How to Get a Dependent Visa to Bring Your Family to Japan

Of course, we all want to live together with our family. But when you first come to Japan, it can be hard to understand how to do that. If you have one of the Residence Status listed below, you will be able to apply for a Dependent Visa for your spouse and children.

First, let’s get clear on who you can bring to Japan on a dependent visa.

Your (legally married) spouse

Your (legal) children

Who Cannot be Your Dependent

You cannot apply for a Dependent Visa for a parent or other relative, regardless of whether or not they depend on you for income.
You cannot apply for a Dependent Visa for a fiance.
You cannot apply for a Dependent Visa for your spouse’s children from previous marriages if you have not legally adopted them as your own.

Statuses Eligible to Apply for Dependent Visas

Almost all international residents in Japan are eligible to bring their family to Japan as Dependents. As long as your Residence Status is in the list below, you’ll be able to apply.

教授 Professor

芸術 Artist

宗教 Religious Activities

報通 Journalist

投資・経営 Investor/Business Manager

法律・会計業務 Legal/Accounting Services

医療 Medical Services

研究 Researcher

教育 Instructor

技術 Engineer

人文知識・国際業務 Specialist in Humanities/International Services

企業内転勤 Intra-company Transferee

興行 Entertainer

技能 Skilled Labor

文化活動 Cultural Activities

留学 Student*

Additional Criteria for Student Residence Status Holders

If you are living in Japan on a Student status, then the type of school you are attending determines whether or not you can apply for a dependent visa for your family.

You’ll see that there are several options for Japanese language, so if you are in Japan studying Japanese, you may wonder which applies to you. The simple answer is to look at your institution. If the institution is a university or junior college (i.e. if it also grants associates degrees or higher in other fields), then you would be eligible to apply for a Dependent Visa. If you are studying Japanese at an advanced vocational school or at a dedicated Japanese language school, you would not be eligible to apply for a Dependent Visa.

Other Residence Statuses

Someone who is living in Japan as a Dependent cannot have their own Dependent.
There are a few other statuses, such as Trainee and Designated Activities, that are not eligible to bring family members.
Other statues, such as Spouse of Japanese National, Permanent Resident, Diplomat, etc., have other methods to bring their family members to Japan and will not need the Dependent Visa process.

Can I Bring my Family With Me to Japan at the Same Time?

It depends on your employer.

Certain types of companies in Japan have special authorization to accelerate their Certificate of Eligibility application process for foreign employees and simultaneously apply for Dependent Visas for their spouses. Those companies are able to get Certificates of Eligibility for both the employee and the dependents within about 2 weeks from application.

If you are coming to Japan as a student, researcher, or working for anything less than a large enterprise, then you will not be able to bring your dependents to Japan at the same time as you. After you arrive in Japan, you will have to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for your dependents so they can join you Japan. That application process can take up to three months. Skip down to the instructions below.

What Companies Can Apply Simultaneously for Dependent Visas?

According to the Ministry of Justice, companies designated as Category 1 or Category 2 are eligible for the accelerated Certificate of Eligibility application process, provided that they are paying you enough to support your family members as well.

Category 1 and 2 companies must be “of a certain size” and make their present operating situation clear through public documentation. Specific examples include:Category 1

Category 2: Individuals or organizations that paid over 15,000,000 yen in income tax during the previous fiscal year.

If you are to be employed in Japan and want to know if your company can apply simultaneously for your dependents’ certificates of eligibility, the best thing to do is ask them directly!

Applying for a Dependent Visa Yourself

If you have to bring your family to Japan yourself, you will need to start with applying for their Certificate of Eligibility. Approval can take up to three months, so get started as soon as you can after you arrive in Japan.

As usual with the Immigration Bureau, the information available in English is vague. The requirements below are translated from the Japanese webpage:

Dependent Certificate of Eligibility Required Documents

One ID-quality photo: 30mm wide by 40mm high, showing the applicant (your dependent) from the chest up, facing forward, with no hats or background.Write the applicant’s name on the back and attach it to the application form in the designated spot

One self-addressed reply envelope with 392 yen in stamps attached.

One of the following documents to prove your relationship:

Family Register

Certificate of acceptance of registration of marriage

Marriage certificate

Birth certificate

Any other document that can be accepted as meeting the requirements of the previous items

Note: Any documents in a foreign language must have a Japanese translation attached.

Copy of the supporter’s (you) Residence Card or passport. (Submit copy of the Residence Card if you have it!)

Proof of employment/activity and financial resources.

If the supporter is engaged in business management or income-generating activities:
(a) 1 copy of certificate of employment or business license (must show supporter’s occupation); and
(b) Certificate of Residence Tax amount and payment showing one full year of tax payment. (Acquired from the City Hall where you resided as of Jan 1.*If you have not been in Japan long enough to acquire a Certificate of Residence Tax showing a full year of tax, consult with the Immigration Bureau. A certificate of employment with salary may be sufficient.

If supporter is not employed or earning income through operating a business:
(a) A bank account balance statement in the supporter’s name or scholarship award statement showing the amount of award and period of payment.
(b) Documents equivalent in nature to (a) that show proof of sufficient finances for the applicant to be able to meet their expenses while in Japan.

Proof of identity, in case of application by proxy.

It is acceptable to fill out the application form in English, but all documents submitted as evidence must be in Japanese or be accompanied by a translation.

Financial Resources for your Dependent

As a general rule, 80,000 yen per month is considered sufficient resources for one person. Since you will be living with your dependent, you don’t need to double that for each person, but count on adding at least 40,000 for a spouse and a little less than that for each child (depending on their age).

As an example, I know of MEXT scholars who were successful in bringing a spouse and two children to Japan with a total income of 145,000 yen.

The Dependent Residence Status does not allow your spouse or children to work in Japan, so you need to plan to support them from your income. Your spouse will be eligible to apply for a work permit (called “Permission to Engage in Activities Other than that Permitted Under the Status of Residence Previously Granted”), but they will be limited to working no more than 28 hours per week. This is not going to be enough for your spouse to support him/herself.

A dependent is able to search for a full time job and use that to apply to change to a working residence status. However, finding a full-time job in Japan is quite difficult without some level of fluency in the language.

All of that will come later, once your spouse is in Japan. But it’s a good idea to have a clear understanding of your financial situation in advance.

Applying for the Japanese Dependent Visa

Once you have your spouse and/or child’s Certificate of Eligibility, you will need to send it to them so they can apply for their visa in your home country.

I recommend making a photocopy first and sending the Certificate by a reliable courier service. Your spouse/child will need the original Certificate of Eligibility to apply for the visa. The photocopy can help you apply for reissuance of the Certificate if it gets lost in the mail.

Related Posts

399 Comments

Yamie2019年2月14日

Good day Travis,
Your blog is really helpful.
But I just want to clarify about dependent COE. Me and my husband are planning to apply for dependent visa for our 3 children. We’ve been here in Japan for almost 3 years and we both had a job. But our visa will be expired on July 2019. Will this affect our application? By the way our status is Long term residents so we able to renew it before the expiration. And also how much amount should we state on the form for the support of each child? They are 11, 8 and 7 years old. And last thing, how much amount our bank account should have? Currently my salary and husband’s is around 30万 each, minus the taxes and insurance it will become around 25万 net salary. And we are in a rural area of Japan. Thank you Travis, hope I’ll get a reply from you.

I’m assuming that you are your husband will be extending your periods of stay beyond July, so that should not be a problem. If you wait until you file your renewal of period of stay applications (as early as April), that should eliminate any issues whatsoever, but I can understand if you do not want to wait that long!

For children of long-term residents, there is a different application procedure, so you would not be applying for a dependent CoE for them. There is a separate “Long Term Resident” residence category for minor children of Long Term Residents, though it is very similar. This is unfortunately outside my area of expertise, so I would suggest that you check with the Immigration Bureau for more information.

Only one of the two of you would have to be each child’s guarantor, as far as I understand. You can have one parent be the guarantor and the other be an additional financial supporter (include both parents’ tax statements). I would suggest indicating around 50,000 yen per month support for each child. That would be reasonable for them living with you (or even higher than necessary) and would show enough income to cover all three of your children and still maintain your household.

Hi,
This blog looks really helpful.
I have a question. My husband is in Japan and he has got his Resident Card. Now am planning to go there as his dependent. He is going to apply for my Coe. Can I visit Japan with tourist visa while the Coe is in process and later get my visa changed to dependent being in Japan without coming back to my home country.

No, it is not allowed to change from a tourist status to Dependent Status without leaving the country. You would have to leave Japan and apply for the CoE outside the country (though you would not necessarily need to go back to your home country, anywhere should do).

Hi Travis,
Thank you for your informative article. I am a graduate student in Japan. I recieved COE for my families and they also applied for visa in Japan embassy. can you help me with information that how my wife get work permit here? I heard that it is possible to get in airport during entry. if it is not, can you please elaborate the process?

It is only possible to apply for the work permit at the airport for people arriving in Japan with a residence status of Student. If your wife is arriving as a dependent, then she would be able to apply at the local immigration office after she registers her residence.

If your father is only going to be in Japan for 3 months, then you should be able to get a tourist visa for that length of time to be with him. He may not be able to sponsor you on a dependent visa if his time in Japan is so short. It can take up to 3 months to process a Certificate of Eligibility application, anyway.
As far as I know, you should be able to apply for a dependent visa at age 18, as long as you are financially dependent on your father and not capable of earning an independent living, but that is not my area of particular expertise, so I would recommend double-checking with the Immigration Burea, first.

Dear sir
I have to come to Japan for 90 days as a researcher in University. They will provide me with COE. I want to bring my wife and baby along with this. How can i apply thier visa along my application. My stay is 90 days so COE for family is impossible to get in short stay..what is the best solution?

If your family would also only be staying in Japan for 90 days, they should be able to apply for a Temporary Visitor visa (tourist visa), which can be for up to 90 days.
Depending on your nationality, there might even be a visa waiver between your countries, in which case they would not need a visa at all for up to 90 days, but I recommend you check with the Japanese embassy to make sure.

Dear Travis
Thanks a lot for your reply. It is good idea to apply for tourist visa. As i am coming as a researcher at a University in Japan, My host professor has asked me that He will try to apply COE for my family (wife and daughter) as well but i am not sure that if he can get that. What do you say?
Can a University Prof apply for my dependants COE?
He asked me to provide documents for my family so he can apply. Can you tell me if this is possible and if so which documents shall i send to host Professor.
Regards

As far as I know, there is no legal grounds for a university to apply for a CoE for your family. It is likely that your professor probably isn’t that familiar with immigration law so has offered to check, but I would not anticipate a positive reply from the Immigration Bureau. I know that some companies can apply for families of their employees, but as far as I know, universities do not fall into that category. I could be wrong, though.

Until the professor gives you a specific list of documents needed (which would indicate that he has checked with Immigration and gotten their instructions), the only thing I can think of would be a family register or marriage/birth certificates to prove your relationship to your family members.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Khush2019年1月7日

Hi
I am in Japan for last two years I want to bring my family here as dependents ( wife and three kids). As my monthly income is 170000 which is very low to get there visa. So my question is can I get my wife here first as dependent and get a permission for her to work as part time (28 hours a week) and club her income to mine and apply for my kids.

Yes, your salary would certainly be enough to support at least one dependent. Then, once she has income as well, you can apply to bring the rest of your family.
I think I remember seeing someone bring a wife and two kids on a lower amount of monthly support in the past.

Your other alternative would be if you could show that someone in your home country was able to send you some money on a monthly basis to supplement your income, then you might be able to bring your whole family now then replace that income from your home country once your wife starts working.

Hi Travis,
I have got offer from a company as Software Engineer with 5M annual salary and company is in process of applying COE for me. I want to know how long after landing to Japan, I can apply COE for my wife as Dependent. I have read few blogs which states that I have to be in Japan for certain period before applying COE for my wife. Thank you :).
Regards,
Mujtaba

In some cases, the company that hired you can also apply for a dependent visa for your wife so that you can arrive at the same time, but it depends on the size/category of the company. They may not be able to do it, but it does not hurt to ask.
If you have to apply yourself after arriving in Japan, there is no minimum time that you have to be in Japan before applying – you would just need enough time to collect all of the documentation you need. So, you would need to finish your registration at the city hall so that you can get your residence-related paperwork and would also need to officially start your job so that you could acquire the letter of employment with salary that you would need.

In the meantime, you’ll also need to produce some proof of your marriage and get that translated into Japanese, but you can start working on that now.

Hello, I’m reading your blog and its really helpful. My mom works in japan and she is married to a japanese but she didn’t pay tax since she is dependent by my stepdad and she has permanent residency. Though she earns more than 80,000 yen a month she can support me for dependent visa. Now my question is she doesn’t know how to do it. Im 29 and I really want to live in Japan, is there other way we can apply for my visa to live and work in japan? Thank you for your help.

I’m afraid that I do not know of any way that a legal adult can obtain a Residence Status in Japan based on their relationship to their parent. You cannot apply for a Dependent Visa, at least.
Your best chance to move to Japan would be to find a job here that will support a working visa for you or enroll in school here to get a visa from one of those sources.

Hello,
I did two marriages in my country. It’s legal to do more then one marriage in my home country at the same time.
One of my family is Japanese and I am the permanent resident of Japan.
Now I would like to sponsor my 2nd wife for the dependent visa.
Can I sponsor them as a dependent visa?
If I can’t sponsor them as a dependent visa what will be other option to bring them in Japan.
Looking forward to hearing back from you soon

As far as I have been able to research, there are no clear rules on multiple marriages within the Japanese immigration system, so I’m afraid there is nothing I can do to offer a quick answer.
My best recommendation would be to consult with an immigration lawyer.

Thank you so much for this information! I have a couple questions and if you could answer them I would really appreciate it. I’m hoping to apply for JET this coming November and I wouldn’t leave until next August, but I’d like to have information before I apply. I am a single mom and after doing the math in my head, I don’t see how it’s possible to live off the JET salary of approximately 300,000 yen per month for two people when I would also potentially have to pay for preschool or international school for my son. So here are my questions:
1. Would you be able to break down the general cost of living in Japan as I cannot see how 80000 would be enough to live on there with the sources I have seen quoting much higher amounts? I would prefer a breakdown where we are able to live at least comfortably in a residence that is not shared with others and our health would not be put at risk because of lack of funds to secure nutritious food options, etc.
2. JET informed me that they do not provide child care as a benefit of the program, but that the contracting organizing staff would sometimes help to accommodate these types of situations. Are there specific Boards of Education there that would be better equipped to support me in this?
3. As a foreigner, would I be able to receive support from the Japanese government as a single parent? Or am I ineligible since I am not a citizen?

If you could answer these questions for me within the next week or so, or refer me to sources where I can do better research this would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Cost of living in Japan is going to be hugely dependent on where you live. For example, it would be significantly higher in Tokyo than it would in, say, Akita. It also depends a lot on your lifestyle. But 300,000 yen per month is well above the starting salary in many jobs, so you should be able to live without a problem in most areas. I would also assume that the program would include transportation subsidies to get you to and from work, though you’d have to check with them.
80,000 yen per month is an estimate for student living, assuming a one room apartment and non-extravagant lifestyle. Still, with two of you in a larger apartment (or possibly a house, if you are in a rural area), you should be able to live quite comfortably on less than 200,000 yen per month, assuming a relatively modest lifestyle – and assuming that you would be putting your son in local kindergarten, not an international school. The latter can be insanely expensive.
2. I am not an expert in the JET program or specific boards of education, so unfortunately, I cannot help with that question.
3. I’m sorry, that is out of my area of expertise, as well. As far as I know, all residents (not just citizens) are entitled to child support benefits, such as reduced healthcare costs and subsidies for childcare (in some areas), but I do not have any direct experience. Both of my children, and almost all of my friends and coworkers’ children have Japanese citizenship.

I know that there are facebook groups and JET websites that may have more information. You might try looking for an organization called AJET, as well. That is a network of former JETs.

Hello Travis,
Thank you very much for the useful information. I have 5 years of working visa, been working in my company lil over a year now and my husband has student visa / japanese language school, finishing next year in march/.. We are thinking of applying for dependent visa for him. But currently i am pregnant and i will start my maternity leave soon.

So i have following questions:
1. Do we have to apply for the visa before i start my maternity leave? /worried about been in a maternity leave affects the visa process/
2. Is it okay to apply while am in my maternity leave?
3. Will he able to get same 5 year as me?
4. Also does he need certificate of eligibility?

Unfortunately, your first two questions are outside my area of expertise, so I’m afraid I cannot give you a certain answer. I imagine it would depend on your working contract and official status with the company while you are on maternity leave.
The best advice I can give you would be to consult with the Immigration Bureau directly.
3. Not necessarily, but he can renew his status later.
4. Yes.

Hi Travis, Thanks for the very informative post! I hope you have an answer to my following query:
1- I already have a working visa for 5 years. Can I applied the same duration for my spouse’s COE? Or any maximum duration that I can apply for my spouse?
2- Can the application being done through mail (by post/courier) only without going to the immigration office? Thanks

Thank you for your kind words.
1. You can apply for up to 5 years for a Dependent Visa. The Immigration Bureau might not grant you all 5 years, but if the period granted is less than 5 years, your spouse would be able to renew their period of stay in Japan later.
2. No, applications must be submitted in person.

Hi Travis,
Thank you so much for your reply. It would be much appreciated if you can answer to my further query;
1. Once the COE is completed, the immigration bureau will post it to my address. Is my understanding is correct?
2. As I currently live in Tsukuba Ibaraki, is it better to submit the application to the Immigration office in Tokyo or to Ibaraki’s Immigration office? Which one in your opinion can process the application faster?
3. Based on your information, the COE application process would take 1-3 months to be completed. If my spouse come to japan first (as tourist we don’t require any visa if stay within 90 days), and later once the COE is completed, can we apply the (a) VISA (b) residence card in Japan? or my spouse still need to go back apply the VISA in own our country?

4. If they are documents that you wrote yourself, such as a letter of explanation, then you can translate it yourself. But if it is an official government document, like your marriage certificate, that would have to be translated by a professional.
The only document in the “gray area” that I know of would be bank statements. Since those generally follow a recognizable format (and the only important word on the document is the final balance), I have seen cases where applicants translated the certificate themselves.

1. Yes, that is correct.
2. Unfortunately, I do not have any data on relative processing speeds. But my understanding is that you have to submit the application to the office that serves the area where you have registered your residence.
3. My understanding is that it is not allowed to change from Temporary Visitor (tourist) to Dependent Status in Japan, so I would anticipate that your spouse would have to return home to apply for a visa then come back to Japan. But, you can always try before your spouse leaves. I know it is not possible to apply for a Change of Status of Residence if your spouse does not already have a CoE, but I have never heard from anyone who tried to apply with a CoE before.

Hello Travis,
My is studying Japanese language in Japan. She about finish her 1.6 year language course and going to join senmon gakko in hotel management.. can I apply for dependent visa at that period..

If you are on a student visa, you can find the chart at the top of this article that shows which kinds of student visa holders are eligible to apply for a dependent visa. A Senmon Gakko should be a “Technical School” in that chart and would therefore be eligible.

Hi. Just a quick thing I will be going to onjapan with a 300.000 yen salary, before tax. I will have to invite my wife and 2 kids, of 2 yrs and 6 months. Would I be asked more.money? Is it enough to support my family?
Thanks

After i read your article, I hope you can help my problem. Me and my husband are intending to study in Japanese language school, are we eligible to bring our twin sons with us? Hope you can help solve our problem, thank you!

It depends on the type of school. At the top of this article, I listed the types of schools where students would and would not be eligible to bring dependent family members to Japan, so please check that against your actual school that you will attend.
Regarding timing, you would not be able to bring any dependents with you at the same time as you arrive. You would have to come to Japan first and apply for their Certificates of Eligibility. Once you have that, your sons would be able to apply for their visas and come to Japan, as well.

Hi I am Ashutosh,
1) I have aaplied dependent Visa for my wife, she is engineer too, if she get job here can she work full time ?
2) I have from Hiroshima. Do Hiroshima Immigration is not busy office from September. Should I expect in mid-october ?
3) She has JLPT exam schedule in december, can I drop application from my company to support COE process faster ?
4) Any contact point where I will know the status? In case of shortfall of documents how they connect with us?

1) Anyone in Japan on a Dependent Visa cannot work full time. However, if your wife finds a full-time job, her employer would be able to sponsor her to change her residence to a working status so that she could work full-time.
2) It’s really impossible to say. In general, this is a less busy season, but it all depends on the specific workload there and their personnel. I would not count on it being issued faster than the standard time.
3) I’m not sure what you mean by “drop application from your country”, but I don’t think that would accelerate her processing.
4) No, the Immigration Bureau never responds to inquiries about the status of ongoing applications. If everything goes well, you will not hear anything from them until the day that your CoE suddenly arrives in the mail. When you filed your application, you gave them your address, so they will contact you there if there are any additional documents required (they will also send the final CoE there by post).

I have an offer to work for a large multinational US company with offices in Tokyo. This is one of the largest companies in the world. I will be a senior Vice President. Can I bring my same sex spouse? We are legally married in the US.
Thanks

It is possible to bring a same-sex spouse to Japan, as long as the marriage is legal in your home country or countries.
I reviewed a few immigration lawyers’ websites and they explained that you would be able to apply for a “Designated Activities” visa for a same-sex spouse. There was a judgement 5 years ago that determined this was the appropriate channel.
However, unlike the Dependent Visa, the process is not quite clearly defined. It should essentially be the same, except that you would also have to provide documentation that same-sex marriage is legal in your state, but I would recommend that you consult with the immigration bureau or an immigration lawyer directly for specific instructions.

Hello. Can my mom apply me for a dependent visa even if im 20 years old? Can i still apply for coe? And besides my mother, is there any other person can guarantor my dependent visa? But ill still reside with mother if my visa is approve. Thank you.

At age 20 in Japan, you are considered a legal adult, so unfortunately you would not be eligible for a dependent visa from your mother.
If you want to move to Japan, your best bet would be to find a school or job and get your visa through one of those.

Dear Travis, Thank you for your blog. I am research student and my residence card’s name is student. I just arrived 7 days ago. I am supported by Monbukagakusho 146000 yen. I have 3 children with my spouse. My first stipend will be get at middle of November together October’s stipend.
So, please let me know closest time. When am I apply for application to Immigration Bureau? It is possible to apply at late of November? My family has little money bring to Japan. Please let me know.

Technically, for immigration purposes, you can apply as soon as you have completed your residence registration (including getting your address printed on your residence card) and the semester starts at the university.

However, universities typically recommend that you wait a semester before bringing your family so that you can adjust to life in Japan, get your studies started and your daily routine in order, so that when your family arrives it is not a major disruption.

I would recommend that you wait at least until you have received one or two stipends. You will need to have enough money to secure housing that is large enough for all of you, and you will need to be able to cover everyone’s expenses at first. If your family does not have much money to bring to Japan, I would suggest that money be the deciding factor for you. When you think you have enough cash to cover their expenses, go ahead and invite them!

Hi Travis, Thanks for the very informative post! I hope you have an answer to my questions.
1. Can my dependent child (6 yrs old) go to public school in Japan? Do you have the links for the process?
2. How about the health insurance of my dependents? So since I am under working visa, am I the one that will shoulder it?
3. If I give birth in Japan, I am in a working visa, will my child be a japanese national? My husband is a Filipino by the way.

1. Yes, your child would be able to attend public school, but I would not anticipate much of any special support. Unfortunately, I do not have any articles or samples of the paperwork, but in my experience, all of the paperwork was directly from the school and the city board of education, so it would vary by location. I would recommend that you follow up when you complete your child’s residence registration at the city hall.
2. Your dependents should be registered in National Health Insurance through you. Your workplace should take care of the paperwork for all of you.
3. No, Japan does not grant automatic citizenship to babies born on its soil. I would recommend that you check with your embassy for the paperwork required to register your child’s birth with them. They should also be able to guide you in the follow-up paperwork required to obtain a dependent status of residence for your new child.

Hello! I am posting this message maybe a little late! Was just wondering how long it takes to apply for a dependent visa for a spouse? By that I mean the processing time from application until they receive the visa? Would be glad if you could let me know what you think. Thank you so much.

From the time you submit the CoE application, it can take 1-3 months, depending on whether you have all the documentation they need and how busy the office is at that season. After that, you have to post the CoE to your dependent in their home country where they will apply for the visa. That can take another 2 weeks to a month, depending on whether they can apply directly (as in most countries) or have to go through an agency (like in the Philippines).

So, I would say that you would be looking at anywhere between 2 months on the short end to four on the long end from the start of the CoE application to the end of the visa application.

I want to ask about my Husband and Son’s visa, because we’re planning to stay in Japan. Let me introduce to you, my background. I’m half Japanese and half Filipino but my citizen is Japanese. I was born in Japan and stayed for almost 10 years. But in 2004 we migrated in Philippines which my Mother’s home country, I’m living here for 14 years. But I’m planning to go back to Japan this coming Friday and to work there. There’s a problem, I want bring my husband and son in Japan as soon as possible, I read all the requirements and Certificate of Eligibility is needed. but the problem is I’m not tax payer since it’s my first time to go back in Japan as an adult and there’s no guarantor because my Father is already passed away when I’m 7 years old plus I don’t have any contact from my Father’s Family. With the help of my Mother’s friend I will be staying in Japan.

So the question is what is the best thing to do for my situation. Of course I want to be together with my Husband and my Son. I know I should be tax payer for 18 months to be able to bring them in Japan. Is the guarantor can be non related or it should be on the side of my Family? Or is it possible to get them the Temporary Visa, for 3 months then apply for COE?

By the way, I registered my son in our koseki tohon. He is Japanese and there’s no problem. The problem is only the husband. Could you please help me with this kind of situation? Thank you very much.

Once you are back in Japan and have a full-time working contract, you should be able to serve as your husband’s guarantor, even if you do not have a full year of tax records. In place of the tax records, you would likely have to show proof of employment with salary and duration, based on what I have heard from others in similar positions.

I would recommend that you consult directly with the immigration bureau after you arrive, but that should work!
If for some reason that does not work, then a non-family guarantor may be possible, too. Since it usually works for you to be the guarantor, I don’t know of anyone who has done that directly, though.

Since you mentioned that your son had Japanese citizenship, then he should not need any immigration paperwork. For your husband, you will need to make sure that your marriage is registered in your Koseki Tohon as well and that you have the marriage certificate from the Philippine government, too.

As far as I know, technical college students on a student visa are able to apply for dependent CoEs for their spouses.

The article above covers what you need to do to apply. For number 6, you would need to show proof of your enrollment as well as proof of financial resources (such as a bank account), showing that you have enough funds to support your husband in Japan.

Hello Travis,
Thank you very much for giving a lot information via your blog. I have a couple of questions:
1. I am going to study by own pocket money at graduate school for 2 years from Oct and going to apply for family ( wife and 2 kids) COE as soon as I settle down. After how many days, the supporters able to apply for the family COE? Is it possible that I directly apply after tomorrow I get residence card?
2. In the page of for supporter Part 1 of the application for COE dependent, there is a question No11. Annual income. I have no income since I just came to Japan to study and I will submit my bank statement which show amount around 7 mln yen. In this case, for answer Q11, how to fill the annual income? I will indicate no income or 7 mln/2=3.5mln?
3. Where can I find self addressed envelope? Is it found in immigration bureau or any Post office?

1. You would be able to apply for the dependent CoE as soon as you arrive in Japan and can assemble all of the required documents. Some of those will require you registering at the city hall, and others will require you to start your enrollment at the university.
2. Since you are supporting yourself by your savings and are not working, your annual income is zero. If you state annual income, the Immigration Bureau will ask you to show proof of employment and salary.
3. You can buy envelopes at supermarkets and convenience stores and stamps at post offices. (Some convenience stores, etc., may sell stamps, too). You cannot get stamps or envelopes at the Immigration Bureau.

Hi Travis, thank you so much. Is it possible to submit all other documents except enrollment document first to Immigration Bureau and after that, some days later when school starts, the enrollments document can be submitted before the COE issue? The bank saving statement from home country is sufficient for family COE?
Best, Jam

This article is about the Dependent CoE, not the Spouse (of Japanese National) CoE. It is the Japanese spouse that applies for the Spouse CoE, not a company.

Things that affect the processing time are whether or not the documents are complete, how clear and convincing your documents are, and how busy the immigration office is that is handling the application (i.e. how many other applications they have to get through before they get to yours).

Hi good morning, my mother is in japan for more than 15 years and we have no idea on how she can apply for me to be with her. Is there age limit? Thanks to your blog we now have an idea. But we need more information on how. Is there any possibility too than she can apply a working visa for me? Thanks for your answer in advance.

Your mother would only be able to apply for a Dependent Visa for you if she has an appropriate residence status to be able to do so and if you are a minor child and completely dependent on her for income. Since it sounds like you have been living separately for 15 years, I think it might be difficult to prove that you are dependent on her, though.

Also, a dependent visa does not allow for work (only part-time work up to 28 hours per week). Only a company that offers you a job can get you the documentation you need to apply for a working visa. Finding a job or enrolling in a school and having your employer or school sponsor your visa is probably the best way for your to get to Japan.

I will be applying for a Student Visa and as per the information i read online that i can work upto 28 hours after getting permit but can i bring my wife along as a dependent ? and if yes then can she work too?

You would not be able to bring your wife to Japan with you at the same time, but after you arrive you would be able to apply for a Dependent Certificate of Eligibility for her and send it to her so she could get a visa and come to Japan to join you.
Once she arrives in Japan, she would also be able to apply for the same part-time work permit as you can get as a student and would also be able to work up to 28 hours per week.

Hello Travis,
This is so helpful! Thank you so much. i have a question but it’s not about a depending question.
can i apply the Japanese student visa for October intake from June .
I would really appreciate your kind advice.
Thank you

Hi!
First at all, thank you so much for posting all these useful information!

I was awarded with a MEXT Scholarship to study in Japan for 18 months. I will have a STUDENT visa and I will go with my wife to Japan.
I read that is possible to my wife enter in Japan as a Tourist, and meanwhile I will do the procedure to issue her CoE. And after the CoE is Issued, then apply for a Visa Status Change, in Japan. Without returning our home country (Argentina). Do you know if it is rigth?

And the other question is, do you have any example of the CoE application Form completed?
Thank you very much in advance

The course of action you mentioned might be possible, but there is no guarantee and I certainly would not recommend it.
The CoE application can take up to 3 months to process, so depending on the timing, there is no guarantee it would be finished before your wife’s tourist stay in Japan was up. There is also no guarantee that the Immigration Bureau would allow her to apply for a Change of Status of Residence from tourist to Dependent, even if she had the CoE. The rule is that she should apply for a Dependent Visa outside of Japan with the CoE. Allowing her to apply for a Change within Japan, even with the CoE, would be an exception and a judgement call by the staff at the office where you apply, so it’s a risky choice. She might end up having to return to Argentina to apply for a visa in the end, anyway.

My recommendation (and I know most universities recommend the same) would be for you to come first, alone, apply for her CoE, then have her apply for a visa and come to Japan to stay with you.

Unfortunately, I do not have an example of the dependent CoE application form.

Hi there,
I’m a U.S. citizen separating from the military in a year and currently living stateside. My wife (also a US citizen) lives and works in Japan and my plan is to join her when I get out and go to school there to get my bachelor’s at a U.S. University that has a campus in Tokyo. Would it be easier to get a dependant visa or a student visa? I might also need to note that we’re both women and our marriage is legally recognized.

My recommendation to you would be to go for the student visa. A dependent visa offers no particular benefits over a student visa and having a student residence status in Japan would make you eligible for more scholarship programs, etc., that are not available to students with other residence statuses.
Also, if you apply for a student visa, the school needs to go through the work to apply for your CoE, whereas if you apply for a dependent visa, your wife would have to do the work instead.

Hellow sir
Im perera and live in japan with “designated activity visa”. My girlfriend also live in japan and she is japanese language school student .we will soon register our marriage in our country embassy in tokyo japan. After the marriage can i be a dependent from my wife while she is studying in language school . She monthly receives her expenses from home country and it is nearly 300000¥ . Thanku very much and waiting for an answer.

Once you are married, you would be able to apply to change your status of residence to Dependent, yes. It sounds like the amount of funding your girlfriend receives is more than enough for both of you, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
One thing you might want to consider, though, is working permissions. I don’t know what kind of Designated Activities residence status you have and if it allows you to work or not, but as a Dependent, you would only be able to apply for a part-time work permit to work for up to 28 hours per week.

Thanku sir for your reply
I have work permit
My type of designated activity is (refugee recognizing ) . Thanku again

Buvan2018年8月20日

Hellow
I already read this blog and it is very helpfull but i also have a serious question about dependent visa with student visa holder. I also live in japan and my wife also. My wife is student in japanese language school still 2 months of studying time and 1 year and 4 months to go. Before i finding this blog i directly mail to immigration Bureau information center and ask about dependent visa from student visa holder they replied me and says. (”
This is an Information Center at “Immigration Bureau of Japan” of “Ministry of Justice”.
In regards to your inquiries, we will answer as following.

Basically, Japanese language school students are not eligible to apply for “Dependent” for family.) and can i be a dependent from my wife? and is their any time period to complete in language school to apply coe for me ? Because still my wife 2 months in japanese language school. But she have enough financial on bank book thanks

If you contact the Immigration Bureau directly, don’t use the word visa. You have to call it a “Residence Status”. To the Immigration Bureau, a visa just means permission to enter the country and it is something that you apply for at the Japanese embassy.
Even know they must know what you really mean, they will act like they don’t unless you use the terms that they prefer.

I have never heard or seen any official information saying that a Japanese Language School student on a “Student” residence status would be ineligible to apply for a Dependent Visa, but I did find a few blogs in Japanese that said that other people had been refused for the same reason.
According to those blogs, it seems like the problem is that the Japanese government defines “Dependent” as someone who needs their spouse’s (or parent’s) income to survive. Since a Japanese language school student cannot earn enough income to support a family, the Immigration Bureau has determined that they cannot sponsor a dependent because there is no way they could be earning income. This seems to apply even if they have savings, because the idea is that those savings could be used to support you in your home country, instead.

I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be more helpful. You may want to consider consulting with a lawyer if you plan to follow up, but my best recommendation to you would be to find some other means of obtaining a visa/residence status in Japan, such as finding work or schooling yourself.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Cass2018年8月10日

! I’m a senior high school now and student visa holder. I’m living with my aunt and uncle here. Is there any chance that I can live with my mum here too?

I’m assuming that your mother is not a Japanese citizen? If she is not, she would need to find a way to obtain a visa on her own, such as by finding a job in Japan. There is no way for you to be able to support her to come to Japan.

Hello, I was wondering if you help me clarify some things. Me, husband and two kids reside in California and are all US citizens. My husband recently accepted a two year job in Japan. He is currently already in Japan and because of some language barrier it’s difficult for him to get straight answers. Kids and I want to live with in the duration of his work contract. His work falls under the skilled labor so from our understanding, he is able to obtain a COE for me and the kids? Where would he go about getting it? Through his work? Or must be do it all on his own?

Yes, your husband can apply for Dependent Certificates of Eligibility for you and each of your children.
Your husband would have to apply on his own. He will need to assemble all of the documentation, including the application forms for each of you, and take it to the Immigration Bureau office that serves his area.

Hi Travis,
Thank you for this very informative article! I hope you can also enlighten me with some of my questions below.
I came to Japan under the EPA program June 2017. I took the Nurse Licensure Exam March of this year and successfully passed. Now I am currently working in Kyouto and I want to bring my husband and daughter here in Japan. I started working here December of 2017 after 6mos of training in Osaka. My concern is that I cannot get a tax certificate for one full year since I still didnt reach a year of employment to be able to get it. One more thing is that they told me that I will start paying my residence tax after a year of living here which will be on December so surely I will not be able to apply for that. Is the employment contract sufficient to be able to file COE for them?
Regarding on the guarantor, do I need to ask the hospital as guarantor?
thanks in advance!

Since you are here under the EPA program, you would not be applying for a Dependent Visa for your husband and daughter – there is a special “Dependent of EPA Program Participant” visa that you would apply for, instead. The requirements are essentially the same, but the name is different. Unfortunately, I can only find it explained in Japanese, but here is the link to the application process on the Immigration Bureau’s website.

Since you do not have the tax documentation, you will need to consult with the immigration bureau that serves your area to find out what they would accept as an alternative. You already have to submit your certificate of employment and maybe that document along with a certificate of your salary would suffice, but only the Immigration Bureau office can give you a certain answer.
In any case, you, not the hospital, would be your family members’ guarantor.

You do not need to change your name. For a dependent visa, Japan only cares if you have met your home country’s laws regarding married couples. (Even for a Spouse Visa where one of the couple is Japanese, it is not necessary to change your name).

My mother lives in Japan with my 2 brothers and my stepfather, does she necessarily needs to use her incomes in the process to bring me to Japan or can she use my stepfather’s income? They are long term residents but right now my mother isn’t working and my stepfather has a income of 250000-300000 (I don’t know exactly)

The visa of my wife will be expired on 23rd Aug and she had applied for renewal for the past two weeks.
we have planning to go to our hometown on 17th August but we don’t know how long will take time to renew the visa. Is there any chance to exit and come back while the visa is in processing for renewal?
If yes, do we need to inform to the immigration?

My recommendation to you would be to check with the immigration bureau directly. There are too many variables here and I don’t want to give you the wrong advice because I did not know all of the details.
In general, when you apply for an extension of period of stay, you can stay in Japan until the date that your current residence status expires or the day 2 months after you applied for the extension, whichever comes later.
If you leave Japan during the processing period and come back before her period of stay expires, then I know that is not a problem, but it sounds like you will be gone longer than that. If you leave and come back after her period of stay expires but before the two months from the application day are over, I don’t know if that is allowed or if you would have to apply for a re-entry period.
You lose nothing and risk nothing by contacting immigration directly to ask, so please check with them to make sure that you have the best answer considering all of the details!

Hi Travis,
Thank you for all this information, it’s very helpful! I have a few more questions.
1. The last thing listed for documents you need to apply is ‘proof of identity, in case of applying by proxy’. Firstly, is it possible to apply by proxy? I live on an island, so applying in person would require a few days off work and travel expenses, so can I apply by mail? Secondly, isn’t your residence card and passport proof of identity? If not, what would be valid for this?
2. About the proof of tax payment. I have been living in Japan for a year, but from August to August, so only 8 months after 1 January. Does the full year only count from January?
3. About the translations. Who can do these? Do they have to be official in some way or can someone who is proficient in English and Japanese do them?

1. It is possible to apply by proxy, but who your proxy may be is limited. Unfortunately, for a dependent visa, it appears to be limited to the person’s immediate family members who are resident in Japan or to a lawyer or legal scrivener who is authorized to apply to the immigration bureau on others’ behalf.
The proxy would need to prove their own identity with a government ID, like a residence card or driver’s license, and would also need to prove that they are eligible to be your proxy. In the case of a family member, that would be some form of legal documentation showing the relationship.

2. For tax purposes, the year starts from January. It sounds like you would not have a tax record showing a full year of income. Your record now would only show the months from August – December of last year. In that case, you will likely have to submit proof of employment with salary in addition to the tax record, but please be sure to contact the immigration bureau, first. Since this is an exception, the exact procedure would be up to their discretion.

3. Any professional translator that can swear that they are competent in both languages, qualified to translate, and have translated the documents to the best of their ability. The Immigration Bureau might want to see that the translation was done and sworn to by a translation company, but there are really no particular qualifications that a translator or company must have. (TranSenz used to be a registered translation company and we handled these kinds of translations on a regular basis).

Hello I just want to know I came here in Japan last 2017 using a spouse or child of a Japanese nationality visa and now we want to bring my child here he is now 3 years old and staying in Philippines with my parents and he is using my last name because I don’t want him to use my before ex-boyfriend last name.. I just want to ask some help full advice on what procedure should we take so we can bring him here in Japan and we could stay together.

Are you currently married to a Japanese Citizen, or are you a Child of a Japanese Citizen? That may affect your options.

If you are a child of a Japanese citizen, there are special long-term visas for second and third generation descendants of Japanese citizens.
If you are married to a Japanese citizen and the child is not the Japanese citizen’s child, then there is also a Long-Term Visa you can apply for in that case.

However, both of these application processes are out of my area of expertise, so I would recommend that you consult with an immigration lawyer.

Hi Travis,
I am Renuka and firstly I want to thank you for writing this post. Yours is the only blog which gives detail information about the process. This has helped us a lot.
My query is regarding CoE for Dependent. My husband is a permanent employee in Tokyo and has been living there since 2 years. He has applied for my CoE a month back with all the appropriate documents. He has sufficient income and has submitted residence tax documents and everything required. However, whenever he calls the number provided, it never gets connected. I want to ask whether they provide status of CoE if he personally visits Shinagawa Immigration Office where he has applied.
Thank you once again 🙂
Renuka

In my experience (and I apply for roughly 300 CoEs each year), the Immigration Bureau never gives updates on the status of CoE applications. It doesn’t matter if you call or visit in person. Typically, their response is just “we will tell you when it is complete. Wait until then.”

Unfortunately, the only thing I can recommend is patience. The application process can take 1 to 3 months and this is a busy time of year, since many universities are now applying for CoEs for their incoming students for the fall semester, so the offices may be busier than usual.

In the meantime, no reply is not a bad thing – it just means they are busy. If there was a problem with the CoE or they needed more documentation, they would contact your husband.

Hi Travis.
Like you mentioned before, Immigration contacted my husband after 2.5 months of application asking for extra documents. Those were 6 months of pay slips from 2017 and 2018. His company could provide pay slips for 2018 but not for 2017 since he was an Independent Contractor during that time. For this, his company gave a letter for Immigration stating their reasons. Immigration said that these documents will suffice.
I want to ask if this will cause any problems and any idea how much longer the wait will be since it is already 3 months from my application.

If Immigration said that the documents will suffice, then I don’t see any cause for concern. I am surprised that it took them that long to contact you to ask for additional documents, though. All I can assume is that they must have had a long delay before they got to your application.
Since even their request for additional documents was later than what I would have expected, I’m not sure I can give an accurate guess as to when you might get the final results, but I would think that it should be within a month, at the latest. Did you have an “expected date of entry to Japan” in your application? In my experience, Immigration usually finishes their processing no less than a month before that.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Renuka2018年9月17日

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did have mid September as my expected arrival date. Of course that is passed now. I sincerely hope it arrives soon now and doesn’t take another 3 months.

I am sorry to hear that. I’m afraid that your situation is an exception to most every other application I’ve heard of.
For what it’s worth, though, having to wait longer is not a “bad sign” for the success of your application. I have not seen any correlation between processing times and success rates in the past. It is really more about how busy the offices are.

I hope you hear good news soon!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Alex2018年7月20日

Hello Travis,

You have a trove of beautiful information here. I’d just like to start by thanking you so much for all your help already!

I am going to apply as an English language teacher at a number of schools in Japan. Unfortunately, all the language schools that I have found so far do not sponsor visa permits for dependents. Then I found your page here. 🙂

Essentially, my question is as follows: as long as I have a certificate of employment from the employer who hires me, I include this certificate in my application for a dependent visa (certificate of eligibility for my wife), about which the steps are laid out in your article here. Is that right? I would like to make sure that my wife can come with me if the language school does not sponsor visa permits for dependents.

Also, since I am not in Japan yet, nor have I ever lived in Japan, would a certificate of employment with salary details be sufficient for this dependent application? I see that I would meet the salary expectations from the Immigration Bureau for my wife and me.

I truly appreciate all your help so far, and I look forward to your response.

Yes, your understanding is correct. If your employer does not support dependent visas directly, you can still obtain one by coming to Japan first and applying for the CoE as your wife’s sponsor. The documents I listed in this article should be everything you need.
A certificate of employment showing your salary and term of employment should be sufficient to show your financial resources (though anything else you have, like bank account balance statements, will only help, too).

I live in japan now for 9 years I am currently a company employee.
I have a step father here in japan, that`s why i have a longterm resident visa.
if i decide to marry someone outside the country, am i able to bring my spouse to live in japan?

It depends on what your exact visa status is. If you have one of the specific “Long-term resident” visas, then you would not be able to apply for a Dependent Visa or for a Spouse of Japanese National Visa for your spouse, but there may be another special status that applies to you. I think it depends on the type of Long-term resident visa you have.
I’m afraid that is out of my area of expertise, so I would recommend that you consult with the local Immigration Bureau. They should be able to give you an answer fairly quickly!

(Asking on behalf of a friend) I am not sure if this question is reasonable, after reading and knowing that Dependant Visas can only be applied for Spouses or either Legal Children. Is there anyway to invite a sibling from back home (a single mother) to Japan for a long term visa? If yes could you please enlighten me with some useful information and knowledge that you have. Also if there are any other ways or procedure for a sibling to invite to Japan on a long term visa, please advise it.
P.S His Japan visa status is Permamant.

Unfortunately, there is no visa I know of that lets you bring siblings to Japan for any long term stay.
My best suggestion to your friend would be to help his sister find an opportunity in Japan, such as employment or schooling, that would provide a visa for her.

Hi Travis,
Sorry if you answered this already. You have written here: “Once you have your spouse and/or child’s Certificate of Eligibility, you will need to send it to them so they can apply for their visa in your home country.” In my case, I am the dependent but I’m already in Japan on an Instructor Visa. My work contract ends and I have to do some medical procedure and will be unable to work. I’m getting married to my long-term partner and he will file for me to become his dependent. We’re both Canadian. Does he/do we still need to send the visa application back to Canada, or can I change my visa status here if it’s still valid when the paperwork comes through?
Thanks in advance.

When your work contract comes to an end, you can apply for a Change of Status of Residence at your local Immigration Bureau office instead of applying for a Certificate of Eligibility. That would allow you to change your status without having to leave Japan and apply for a new visa.

All of the requirements and paperwork for the Change of Status of Residence are the same as for the Certificate of Eligibility, only the application form itself is slightly different.

Hello! I’m not sure if this has been asked already but my husband works in Japan and we wanna file a COE but we just recently got married so I’m still using my old passport since there are no free schedules to get it renewed. Is it okay to use the old one or does it have to be updated?

It is fine to use the old one. If you get it updated after you move to Japan (e.g. change your family name), then you would have to file that change with the local Immigration Bureau office to get your records updated, but it is not a problem to do it in that order.

Good day!
I am now in the process of applying for COE for my wife and my son and still getting all the necessary required documents. I do have following questions to ask below.

1. If there’s no problem with the documents, how long would it take?
2. Will 260000 monthly after tax be sufficient for spouse and 1 child?
3. Do I need to fill up the COE application form in Japanese? or English will do?
4. In the Application form, Do I need to attached both picture or my wife and my child? or I need to fill up a for each one of them separately?

1. It really depends on how busy the particular office/region where you apply is when you submit your application. Anywhere from 1-3 months is what the Immigration Bureau says. Most often I see responses between 1-2 months, but I live in a rural area with few international residents.
2. That should be plenty.
3. English is fine for the form itself. Most information about your dependents would have to be in English anyway. The only thing you could really fill in in Japanese would be your address and personal residence status info.
4. My understanding is that you would need to submit a complete application, including the form and all supporting documents for each person.

Good noon!
Thank you for the reply. I do have some follow up questions.
1. Is it necessary to include a back account certificate when submitting the documents? or the Tax certificate and your Certificate of employment with salary details will suffice?
2. Also, just follow up question on item 4. Is this mean that I need to fill up one form for my wife and another form for my child?
3. Do the form can be fill up electronically by filling it up thru excel or It must be in hand written?

My apology for having all these questions as this is really my first time in processing these papers.

1. The tax certificate and certificate of employment with salary details should be fine.
2. Yes, plus submit a complete set of supporting documents for them, at least as far as I know. You may want to check with the Immigration Bureau first to see if they can use one set or one set of originals and one set of copies.
3. The form should be available in excel format, so you can fill as much of it as possible in excel then fill in the questions you couldn’t answer electronically after printing.

Good day!
Thank you so much for the reply. I really appreciate your response and it give me much help in understanding the requirement details. I’ll give some updates and feedback for any results I get from the immigration.

Thanks a lot.

Roy2018年10月30日

Hi Travis,

Good day!
I’ve just received the COE for my familiy. It took me 62 days of waiting. Thank you very much for the help.
Btw, I have a follow up question. When they arrive here in Japan. They will be issued with a residence card at the airport immigration, right?. Does the validity of their visa would be the same as mine?

Thank you for sharing your processing time! It’s helpful to know what the current practice is.
Now you will have to send that CoE to your family so they can apply for their visas.

Once they arrive, they will receive a residence card at the airport (provided that they arrive at one of the major airports, which can issue residence cards). They will then have to go to the city hall or ward office where you live to register their residence withing 14 days, and that is when they will get their address written on the residence card (if they arrived at an airport that does not issue residence cards, then they would get their card after completing residence registration).

The period of stay your family will have is already printed on the CoE, about halfway down, on the right. If that is shorter than your stay (or you extend your stay later) your family can also apply to extend their period of stay when it gets close to the end.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Bigi2018年7月2日

Hi, I’m Bigi. My husband has recently applied for CoE. How long does it take to get CoE to come normally, if there isn’t any problem with the documents? Also will 170000 after tax be sufficient for spouse and 2 kids?

The standard processing time is 1-3 months.
170,000/month is going to be tight for four, but it isn’t impossible. I have known people who brought a family of the same size to Japan with a lower monthly income. (They lived in a rural area, in low-income housing. Between the income and bank balance, it should be possible to get the CoEs, but it may depend on where you live.

The general guideline I have seen is that you should be able to show that you have enough money to provide your dependent with 80,000 JPY per month of support in addition to the money you spend on yourself each month. So, add those support numbers together and multiply by the number of months your dependent will stay in Japan.

Are you saying that you successfully brought your father to Japan on a dependent visa? If so, you are the first one I’ve heard of who did so. I would love to learn more about how you succeeded!
Could you share the details with us here?

I would like to ask If I can get my wife here in Japan? I’m a third generation, long term resident. We just married last may 8. I am studying in the Philippines before that’s why I dont have tax yet but I now have work here in Japan. Is it possible if I’ll apply for her eligibility but my parents will be the one to guarantor for my tax since i dont have yet. Me and my parents are living together here in Japan. May I please know if it’s possible. Thank you so much and looking forward to your answer.

Yes, your parents should be able to serve as your wife’s guarantor if you do not have the required tax records yet (that’s what my wife and I did!)
With your residence status, though, you would not be applying for a “Dependent” (家族滞在) status for her. There is a specific separate process for spouses of third-generation status holders (日系３世の配偶者).
The link above has details, but they are only available in Japanese, I’m afraid. If you do not read Japanese, then I would suggest going to the Immigration Bureau office for details.

hi there;
i was working in Japanese company and it has already been 1 week of processing my working visa. But i want to bring my wife as soon as possible. can you guide me after getting visa what time or day or month is suitable for appling eligibilty letter for my wife? Thank you. 🙂

Hi I am on a child of a Japanese national visa and my son is in Japan too. We are living with my grandma in osaka. I am trying to get my husband to Japan from the USA. You mentioned that there are other ways to get my spouse in on a special visa. Can you please explain?

He has promise of work if he gets in and has already passed interview with that company in yakushima. Our family also has a house there.

OTHER RESIDENCE STATUSES

Someone who is living in Japan as a Dependent cannot have their own Dependent.
There are a few other statuses, such as Trainee and Designated Activities, that are not eligible to bring family members.
Other statues, such as Spouse of Japanese National, Permanent Resident, Diplomat, etc., have other methods to bring their family members to Japan and will not need the Dependent Visa process.

My only expertise is in the Spouse of Japanese National Visa and Dependent Visa. I know there are other paths available, but I do not have any detailed information about them, so I’m afraid I would have to recommend that you consult with the Immigration Bureau or with an Immigration lawyer.

But before you do that, is there any reason why your husband cannot simply get a working visa if he already has a job lined up? That would seem to be the simplest solution.

This is a very educational article for individuals like myself who are intending to move to Japan. I have a fast inquiry and I trust that I will find a solution to it. I had connected for work in a Japenese organization and as of late they educated me that they have acquired my declaration of qualification from the movement authority. Presently I am wanting to have my visa issued at the neighborhood Japanese international safe haven. Presently, there are a couple of things I have to think about the family/subordinate visa in Japan.

I am hitched with two youngsters, having the official government provided marriage/family enlistment testaments with me

I need to know to what extent do I need to sit tight before applying for my wards’ by means of after landing in Japan

What will be the length of visa in years that the neighborhood japanese consulate will give to me (1 or 3 years)? The organization that has enlisted me is a medium measured endeavor. On the off chance that they issue my visa for multi year or less, will regardless I have the capacity to apply for my wards’ visa upon landing?

You can apply for the Certificate of Eligibility for your dependents as soon as you arrive in Japan and can assemble all of the required documents. There is no period that you have to wait first.

For your own visa, you should be able to see the period of stay that you will be given written on the Certificate of Eligibility. Regardless of your period of stay, even if it is only one year, you should be able to apply for a CoE for your Dependents. Both your period of stay and theirs can be renewed after you arrive in Japan.

Technically, yes, but it is very unlikely.
The only examples I have heard of were if applicants did not submit the visa application correctly or if the COE conditions had become invalid after the COE was received (for example, if someone had received a COE for a dependent visa but then gotten divorced so they were no longer the person’s dependent).

I do not think you should have anything to worry about!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Hello Transenz!!!
This is me Serpuja Kiran .I am a student of Msc. IT Business Technology in Kyoto city of the Japan . It has been six month in Japan .I have still eighteen months visa duration . Actually , I want to call dad as my dependent .So, is it possible to call ? Is there any sufficiant way to call dad as dependent ? If so, how can i call or what sort of process should i follow?
Please give me some ideas and suggestion .

Hi, is there a way fiancé and I (after we marry), are able to go to Japan with student visas and bring our son with us at the same time (for him to learn as well) for either a full year (365 days), Academic year (fall and spring terms), or summer term at a Japanese language school or college/university? I will be 20 in June, son will be 1 in June, and fiancé is 22. We would like to do this by the time he is elementary school age. Is it possible both our son and us could all get a student visa?

Unfortunately, there is no way I know of to bring a spouse or child on a dependent visa at the same time that you arrive on a student visa. As far as I know, simultaneous applications are only available to some employers for working visas. I think the best way forward would be for one of you or your husband-to-be to arrive before the other and apply for your son’s CoE. Then your son could arrive with the other parent, if the timing worked out.
You would not be able to get a student visa for a 1-year old, since there are no schools at that age. It would have to be a dependent visa.

Hello I am Acharya Ramesh I am bachelor student l am married and I want to bring my wife with me what should I do first n how can I get application form and if she will come Japan she can do part time job or not if can what should we do please send me answer

You can get the CoE application form from the Immigration Bureau’s website.
Once your wife is in Japan, she would have to apply for a separate work permit to be able to work part-time. That form is also available from the Immigration Bureau.

This is an article about applying for visas, not about the MEXT scholarship.
I linked to the original application form for undergraduate and graduate scholarship application at the top of my article about the 2019 Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, so you can download it there.
However, my best recommendation is that you get the form from the Embassy where you plan to apply. They may have additional forms for you or specific instructions.

Only people with one of the statuses of residence I listed in the article are eligible to apply for dependent CoEs for their family members. Unfortunately, trainee is not on the list, so you would not be able to apply.

Helow trnsenz
am sri lankan student in japan. And now am marride wthi student (senmon gakko) shi have a 3yy student vis in japan. can i get a dependent visa? I whont chenge my visa. I cant like go to school

If you are married to a foreign national who has a valid residence status in Japan, then you should be able to apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” to change to a dependent status.
The application for a Change of Status is practically identical to applying for a Certificate of Eligibility, only the application form and a few of the required documents are different.

Hi Dear
I am already in Japan for 3 weeks since started the teaching job in Japan. When is the possible date for applying fependent visas for my husband and two kids. Alsao 239,000¥ is sufficient for finance to live in Japan for 2 adults and 8 and 4 year old kids.

As soon as you can acquire all of the documents you need for the application, you can apply! By now, you should be fine to start your application.
Yes, I think you can live on that income, though you would have to live somewhat frugally. It should be enough for the Immigration Bureau’s purposes.

Hi, Travis, thank you for all the information that u sent to me thru email.
I just want to ask a question i hope u could reply.
My situation is like this, i have a multiple visa for five years in japan, got married last january this year to a japanese national, i already applied for certificate of eligibility and waited for almost three months only to know that i was denied to have COE. What would you suggest or what do u think is the best thing that i can do for me to get COE. I go back to the philippines every 30 days and go back again to japan after a week so that my husband and i can be together. Your reply will be most appreciated. Thank yoU

I would recommend that you try to figure out why your application was declined. Did they ask for any replacement documents or additional information during the process? Was the evidence of your relationship not strong enough, or the proof of your financial support?
If you can figure that out, then you can try again.

Is your 5-year visa a multiple-entry tourist visa? If you come to Japan with any status other than Temporary Visitor, you can also try to apply for a Change of Status of Residence while you are in Japan.

Thank you so much for all of this, you are helping people immeasurably!
Do you know if it is at all possible to apply for a COE by mail, or do you have to submit all documents in person? I live on an island so getting to my regional immigration bureau means using a lot of money as well as leave days.
Also: does the one year of tax thing have to start from January 1? When I apply for the COE I will have been in Japan for a year but from August to August. Is that not valid?
Lastly: do I have to register our marriage anywhere in Japan prior to applying for the COE? In my understanding this is only necessary if the applicant is married to a Japanese national, but I want to make sure.
Thank you again!!!

Unfortunately, you do have to submit everything in person. Part of the process is that they have to verify the identity of the person submitting the documentation.
The one full year of taxes would go from January to December. Your tax records and invoice are produced once per year based on the total amount of income earned in the previous Jan-Dec period. So, your current record would only show 5 months of income (Aug-Dec).

In that case, I would recommend double-checking with the immigration bureau, but a certificate of employment with your salary and term of employment should work.

Finally, you are correct, your marriage only needs to be registered in Japan if one of you is a Japanese national.

hello,
i am applying for dependent visa since my husband is already working in japan. we received certificate of eligibility. but i am currently i am in UAE, is it possible for me to apply for visa from japan embassy from UAE or i need to go go back in my hometown?

the reason i am thinking to apply from UAE is it will take time while i will resign from my current job.
please suggest me which way will be better.

It should be possible for you to apply at the Japanese embassy in UAE if you are residing in that country for work, but double-check with the embassy, just to be sure. A quick phone call to them should be enough to confirm!

Sir my father is working in cook visa in japan. my mother went to japan under dependent visa few years ago. At the present time my father had applied for dependent visa for me and my brother. its almost 70 days and visa hadnot come yet. Do i still have the chance of visa? I just wanna ask how much time does it take for visa normally? I will be grateful if you reply as fast as you could? Feeling sad

As far as I know, parents can only get dependent visas for their children if they are minors and dependent on the parents for income.
The typical processing period for a Certificate of Eligibility is 1-3 months.

Hi,
Currently, I am working in Japan. I am going to resign the current company soon. I also has been appointed in a new company. Before Joining that new company I want to go to my country and get marry.
I want to know, Is it possible to bring my wife together with me. If it is possible what is the procedure and essential documents to be submitted while applying for visa. Please suggest me. Thank you.

If you return to your company and get married then come back to Japan, you would not be able to bring your wife with you at the same time.
You would have to return to Japan first and apply for a Certificate of Eligibility for her as your dependent. Then you would mail that to her so that she can apply for the visa and come join you in Japan.

Hi Travis. I am not Nirmal. I just dont know how to comment like others so I decided to ask here instead, im sorry. We are currently in Japan as a temporary visitor for 90days and our visa will expire this end of the month. We already went to Immigration to apply eligibility (we didnt submit any documents first, we asked the head of the immigration who’s under eligibility processing) they told us that we cant apply anymore since i am 20 yrs old already. But some websites were saying that u can still apply even tho ure 18 above as long as ur guarantor does have a stable job and paying taxes well (my mother and step father who’s a japanese both have a job and paying taxes very well) and as long as u have a translated b-certificate, u can apply eligibility. Do u have any advice?

In general, if you are an adult capable of earning an independent income, then you would not be eligible to apply for a Dependent Visa. To qualify for a Dependent Visa, you need to show that you are fully dependent on your parent in Japan for income and general day-to-day support. If you are over 20 but were still a student, for example, and so require daily support, then you might still be eligible.
From your comment, it appears that you have been living separately from your mother and supporting yourself, so that would be proof to the Immigration Bureau that you do not require a Dependent Visa.

I’m not an expert in Dependent Visas, and your situation is in a gray area, so you may want to talk to an actual immigration lawyer for more information.
As far as I understand, since you are a legal adult by Japanese standards, you would be expected to be able to earn an independent income. If you wanted to apply for a dependent visa, you would have to prove why you are incapable of earning an income on your own and must remain under your mother’s constant care and support.

But again, that is just my understanding. I am not a lawyer, so I recommend you consult with one if you want to get into the details of the law and possible exceptions.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Nirmal2018年5月23日

Thank you Travis. I have one complication too. The girl whom I am getting marry is 10 years younger than me. Does it matter for spouse visa ?

A previous rejection for a student visa should not have any effect on applying for a Dependent CoE/Visa now, so you do not need to worry about that when you apply.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Martina2018年4月16日

Hi there! Thank you for these very helpful pieces of information.
I am in a slightly different situation, though. Do you know if I can apply for a dependent visa while being already in the country?
I’ll explain myself: I am on a student visa that is about to expire, can I register as my husband’s dependent (who is also already here on a visa, for another three years) from within Japan or do I necessarily have to apply from my home country?
Thanks again!
Martina

If you are on a Student Residence Status, then yes, you can apply for a “Change of Status of Residence” to change to a Dependent Residence Status at the local Immigration Bureau office.
The application requirements for a Change of Status of Residence are essentially the same as applying for a Certificate of Eligibility. It’s just the application form that is different.

Hi Travis, thanks for this. I’d like to confirm about DEPENDENT VISA.
I am here in Tokyo right now for 90 days stay and I am really confused if I could get dependent visa. I am already in Family Register of my Japanese stepfather, I am already 28 yrs old (but I think I am not eligible to get family dependent visa because of my age). But I got an employer (self support stock company ) wherein they send home caregivers/ home helpers in patients or clients house. I worked in their company before when I was a student here in Japan. I am a licensed nurse in the Philippines and have JLPT n4 level. Do you think I can get DEPENDENT VISA through this company (they also have branches in other part of japan and overseas. What do you think should I do. My company doesn’t have idea too what kind of visa should I get. Hope to hear your advice. Thank you so much.

You can only get a dependent visa if you are married to another foreign national who is in Japan on a mid- to long-term residence status (such as student, work visa, etc.).
Also, a dependent visa does not allow you to work.

If you are going through a company and going to be working there, you should be trying to get a working visa. I don’t know what type of specific working visa would apply in your case – working visas are outside my area of expertise, but the company should be able to consult with the Immigration Bureau to find out.

Hi Travis, thank you so much for your response. Luckily, I got a company that sponsored my visa as an ALT. Now, I am thinking if I could bring my child (3yrs old) as my dependent here in Japan, even if I am new at work (running 2months). In case, I can bring my child at my work(preschool), she’ll be studying while I’m working. 🙂

Yes, you would be able to apply for a dependent visa for your child. Depending on the size of your company, they may be able to apply for a dependent visa for your child in advance. I would recommend that you contact them to find out.
If they cannot do so (only some companies are allowed to), then you would have to come to Japan first then apply for a Dependent CoE for your child, then bring her to Japan later to joinyou, once the paperwork is complete.

I know that can be hard with such a young child, but I hope you have family in your home country to support you in the meantime!

Hi there.
I arrived in Japan with single status but days before my flight I got married. I have not yet changed my status until now.
Can I still apply my husband for a dependent visa even if I’m “single” in my status here?

It should not be a problem to apply for a dependent visa for your husband. I don’t think they even keep a record of that, but in any case, the Immigration Bureau will understand that the form that you filled in was accurate when you completed it, but that things change! They won’t expect you to stay single throughout your whole stay in Japan just because you were when you applied for your CoE/Visa.

Requirements for applying for a tourist visa differ from country to country, so I would recommend that you check with the Japanese embassy in your country.
My expertise is in longer-term visas, for spouses of Japanese citizens or residents who want to move to Japan permanently. I’m not the best person to help with tourist visas.
But maybe someone else reading this can help you!

The application process can take up to 90 days and this is a busy time of year as universities are applying for CoEs for new students and companies for new hires with the fiscal/academic year starting in April.
In general, they will only contact you if they need you to submit something additional or when the evaluation is complete.

I have never heard of the immigration bureau contacting anyone by email. In my experience, they always use postcards. (If you’re in an area where they are using email, then that might just be the most technologically progressive branch of the Japanese government I’ve ever heard of!)

Regardless of whether your application is successful or not, they will give you an answer, so all I can tell you for now is to hang in there!

It can take 1-3 months to get the Certificate of Eligibility, from the time your spouse in Japan submits the application. After that he or she need to mail it to Nepal so that you can apply for the visa, itself. The visa application process length varies by country, but in most cases, it is under two weeks.

Hello Travis,
My husband and I dropped off his COE and application at the Portland Consulate today for processing into a one year Instructor Visa. Through our extensive research, we have been under the impression that once he is settled there with proper documents, he will be able to apply for my COE so I can apply for a Dependent Visa. The woman at the Consulate said that he cannot do that, and that his company will have to sponsor me as a Dependent for him. She said that he cannot sponsor a COE at all. We cannot find any information to validate this claim. There may have been something lost in translation, or perhaps she is accustomed to processing paperwork for those in the JET program, who do sponsor family visas (my husband is employed through Interac and they do not sponsor anyone other than him). You’ve outlined so much helpful information in this post, but are there any foreseeable reasons as to why we would be told such conflicting information?

My best guess is that there was a miscommunication. Your husband will not be able to sponsor a CoE for you until after he arrives in Japan and is registered there as a resident. After that point, he should be able to do so with no problem. He will need some documentation from his company (employment and salary info) to apply for the CoE, but he will ultimately be your sponsor.
It’s possible that the embassy thought that you wanted to get your CoE and visa before he traveled so that you can go to Japan at the same time. That would be impossible without the company’s sponsorship. The embassy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and immigration bureau (Ministry of Justice) are entirely separate organizations and sometimes don’t understand one another’s policies. I’ve also seen embassy staff get their own paperwork practices wrong on multiple occasions, so it is not unreasonable to think that the person you talked to just had a slight competency deficiency, as well.

Thank you so much for these resources! I understand that once you are in country with your dependent Visa, you can apply for part-time work. What if the dependent has full-time work overseas (US, in this case) as a remote position? Can they continue working for the US company or would that relationship have to cease?

I am not a lawyer and don’t have any direct experience with this, but my understanding in general is that limitations on employment only apply to activities that generate income from within Japan. So, being paid full-time or part-time by a foreign company would not be a problem, if my understanding is correct.

This is one of those rare occasions on this blog where I do recommend that you talk to a lawyer to be sure!

Hi! Thanks for this. I would like to ask if it is possible to apply for a dependent visa (for my husband, we married last December 2017) if I just started my full-time work here in Japan this month. My monthly income is 200,000 yen and I will not be able to give a tax certificate. I am currently living with my Filipino mother and Japanese stepfather (who is also the one who supported me when I studied Nihongo last year). The immigration officer told me to give my stepfather’s bank and tax certificate in lieu of my “足りない” documents. Also, I may just include in my reason letter (理由書）that I used my stepfather’s bank statement and tax certificate because I just started working. Is this credible? I am planning to apply for a dependent visa on March and I want my documents to be credible to avoid delay. Thank you so much!

That sounds like it should work. In that case, my understanding is that your father in law would be your husband’s Guarantor for the paperwork.
I would also recommend submitting your own proof of employment and proof of salary if you can, especially if you will be your husband’s financial supporter.

Sorry about that, I was referring to the wrong process. For the dependent visa the term is “Supporter.” It sounds like your stepfather would be your husband’s Supporter in the application form, but I would recommend that you double-check with the Immigration Bureau official, just in case.
(The term “Guarantor” is from the Spouse of Japanese National application process, so you don’t have to worry about that).

Hi Travis.
Can I apply a COE as a child dependent even though I’m already 20 years old? My mom is a permanent resident in Japan and living there for 14years with her husband. As you can see I’m not a Japanese citizen. I’m a pure Pilipino but my dad is already dead (6yrs ago.) and I’m only depending on my mom. Is there any way to stay in Japan?

I (the supporter) am currently filling out the COE application for my husband (the dependent). I would like to clarify if I am able to submit the COE application on behalf of my husband in person at immigration, or do I need to go to a legal professional to submit it? From reading the document, it seems that I need a legal representative, but reading all the comments here leads me to believe I can go do it myself.

You can submit the application yourself! It’s fairly easy to do and you do not need any legal assistance. (That’s why I wrote this article – to try to give you the information you need to submit it without having to pay someone else 🙂 ).
The documentation can be badly written at times. “Legal representative” does not mean legal professional, it means anyone who is legally allowed to submit the application on behalf of the applicant (your husband), including you, the spouse. In this case you are your husband’s legal representative.

I got my CEO on last week and i am going to submit my documents to Japan Embassy soon.

I am a Nepali and currently working in Qatar since 7 years.

I already informed to my manager that i am going to resign and wants to be in Japan with my wife but my Boss wants me to be here at least 1 year so that i can teach all my responsibilities to next one.

If i got my visa for 1 year in Japan, may I come back to Qatar again to work for few months?

Because, he allowed me take vacation in Japan and come back to Qatar.

As soon as the next guy is perfect and excellent, he will allow me to make resignation because he is afraid about our project and to missed me because, we are very nice and close to each other.

Please, I would like to get your advice regarding this issue because, I don’t want to lose this opportunity to go in Japan but I have to come back to Qatar for few months…..

You have to arrive in Japan within 3 months of the day your CoE was issued.
After you arrive, you will receive a Residence Status and a Residence Card. While your residence card and passport are valid, you can leave and reenter Japan as many times as you like, as long as you do not stay outside the country for more than a year and you return to Japan before Residence Card expires.

Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for your reply. I really appreciated it and It’s clear to me now.

I think, After receiving my visa, i will be in Japan for 1 month and i will go back to Qatar for helping my Boss as i said to you before.

After, i will return to Japan before to expired my residence card.

On this case, Immigration will renew my visa again?

Please let me know the proceeder to secure my visa, because I want to follow the rules and regulations to avoid any problem for renewing visa. Because it is a good opportunity to be with family in nice and peace country “Japan”.

I know you’re allowed to leave Japan once you have the residence card, as we discussed before, but I don’t know how Immigration would view your long absence when you apply to renew. When you do that, I would recommend that you submit an Explanation Letter (in Japanese) saying that you had planned to move to Japan permanently when you first arrived, but your employer asked you to return temporarily to train your replacement at work. Also say that the training is done now and you do not plan to leave for an extended period of time again.

Once you have the CoE, all that is left is to apply for your visa at the Japanese Embassy. I’d recommend that you contact them in advance to see what other documents and materials you will need for that.

I received information that smeone holding a Japanese resident status could loose it without doing the activity more than 3 months…it might be difficult to renew my spouse resident status if i keep leaving Japan. So I don’t want to take risks because, we have plan to live in japan in the future days.

Now, during my annual leave, I would like to visit Japan as visitors.

I would like to ask if it is possible to apply for a visit visa using this COE which was issued on last month 19 January for my dependent visa.

If not, what is the requirements for applying visiti visa in Japan?

And, what do i need to do this original COE ? Do i need to return to immigration with reasons and explanations ?

If I return this COE with reason and full explanations, next time the immigration will issue my COE again ?

You are correct that you can lose your Residence Status if you fail to continue the activity your status was given for for a period of three months, but the law says that exceptions can be made if you have an accepted reason.
My understanding is that this primarily applies to situations where you are not continuing the activity, but are staying in Japan. If you have to leave Japan unexpectedly for work (it was unexpected when you applied for the CoE) that might be accepted as a good enough reason.

If you choose to return the CoE, then you would have to return it to the Immigration Bureau via your spouse in Japan along with a letter explaining the reason. If you have a good reason, for example that your employer asked you to remain a certain amount of time to train your replacement, then that should be fine. There should be no problem with applying for a CoE again in the future.

You cannot use the Dependent CoE to apply for a Temporary Visitor visa, but you don’t need a CoE for that application at all. The requirements for applying for the temporary visitor visa vary based on your nationality, so you would have to follow up with the Japanese embassy to get more information.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Klo072018年1月19日

Hello, Travis! Thank you for all the information.

I’ll be moving in a new prefecture by February because of a new workplace (job) and when I am already there, I’ll be applying for my husband’s Certificate of Eligibility for his Dependent Visa. Are there any documents such as tax records that I should get from my current prefecture now before moving in to the new one? Is the Gensen Chou Shu Hyo from my current company enough?

I understand that by the time I apply for my husband’s COE, the Residence Certificate (Jyuminhyo住民票) will come from my new place.
While, the Proof of Annual Income (Shotoku Shoumeisho所得証明書) and the Proof of tax payment (Nouzei Shoumeisho納税証明書) will come from the old place. However, the Certificate of Employment will come from my new workplace. Is my understanding correct? What should I do regarding this matter? Is the Proof of Tax Payment Nouzei Shoumeisho納税証明書 enough to show to do the immigration? Or should I still present the Proof of Annual Income (Shotoku Shoumeisho所得証明書)?

Also, the information on Proof of Annual Income is about my former company but the Certificate of Employment will be from the new company. Will there be complications regarding this matter? Nouzei Shoumeisho is just about the taxes that I paid for a year, right? Also I applied for my tax refund last yr but I haven’t gotten the refund, do I still need to tell to the immigration that I applied for my tax refund? Please enlighten me. I am sorry for my long post. Thank you so much, Travis!

Your tax refund shouldn’t be relevant to the application. It doesn’t matter that your proof of income and proof of employment are from two different companies, though it may be safe to get your proof of employment with your salary stated on it, if possible. That will show them your expected income at the new job.

By “aju”, I think you mean permanent residency? (eiju)
You cannot go from a dependent status (or student, for that matter) directly to permanent residency, as far as I know. However, if your spouse in Japan gets permanent residency, then you can change your status to “spouse of permanent resident.” Then after a few years in that status, you would be able to apply to obtain permanent residency.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Zelle2018年3月6日

Hi travis, Please help me because right now i am currently in japan as a short term visa for 3months. But i already extend another 3months. So my final extension is until april 30, I need to go back to the philippines. And now, me and my boyfriend got married here in japan, my boyfriend is long term residence here in japan he’s a filipino and i’m filipina. and we decided to apply COE and spouse visa. But I have only 2months to stay here in japan, you think 2months is enough to apply COE and spouse visa? Please help us. 🙁 thankyou and godbless!

If your husband is a long-term resident, my understanding is that you would be applying for a “long-term resident” visa yourself, not a spouse visa or dependent visa.
The process and requirements are going to be different depending on what kind of long-term resident your husband is and his current working situation. For example, there are different procedures for second generation descendants of Japanese and third generation, and the required paperwork differs depending on his employment situation.

Since there are so many variables, my best recommendation to you would be to go consult with the Immigration Bureau office as soon as possible for their guidance. The typical application process is 1-3 months for a CoE, so it’s already unsure whether you have enough time or not. The sooner you go, the better chance you would have!

Your understanding sounds correct in most cases.
You do not need a Shotoku Shoumeisho 所得証明書, though. What you need is Proof of annual resident tax amount (Juminzei no Kazeishomeisho 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書) and the Proof of tax payment (Nouzei Shoumeisho 納税証明書) from your current city hall. Depending on your city, this might be one document that shows both or two separate documents.
Since your annual resident tax is based on your income level, that is sufficient to show your income.
I would recommend getting those documents now before you move. You can always apply for them later by mail, but getting them now saves frustration.

You shouldn’t need your Gensenchoshuhyo if you have the Juminzei records, but yes, that would come from your current employer. The certificate of employment would come from your next employer (where you would be working when you apply.) I know that’s not a problem, because I had the same situation when I applied for permanent residency!

Thank you so much for taking time to read and answer my posts. You truly are a big help!

Just want to clarify, for the tax records, I should have Juminzei no Kazeishomeisho 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書) and the Proof of tax payment (Nouzei Shoumeisho 納税証明書) from my current city hall while the Certificate of Employment from my new workplace should have my salary information on it.

Shotoku Shoumeisho所得証明書 and Gensenchushohyo are no longer needed, is this right?

Are tax records just a proof that you are a good tax payer? I am also thinking about the residence tax because it is based on my former salary so does it mean I will still pay the residence tax based on my former salary even if I have a new work/salary? Will the immigration know this?

Also, if I apply through a scrivener, I was told that I won’t need to send the Cert of Eligibility to my home country, I just have to wait a notice from the embassy in my home country that the visa is ready, if that’s the case then where will the embassy stamp the visa?

As far as I know from the instructions on the Immigration Bureau’s website, the Shotoku SHomeisho and Gensenchoshuhyo were never listed as a requirement, just the tax and certificate of employment.
I think the Shotoku Shomeisho and Gensenchoshuhyo can serve as a replacement if you don’t have the tax documents.

The tax records are a goverment-issued form of proof of income that is more reliable to the immigration bureau than something that a company issued. It is not a problem that you have changed jobs since then.

I don’t know who told you that applying though a scrivener meant that you won’t need the CoE. That does not sound right to me at all, but I would follow up with the source of the information. I would not believe anyone who told you that you do not have to go through the visa application process. There is nothing automatic about this. You need to plan to do all of the legwork.

Thank you so much, Travis! I appreciate your response. I believe that I still have to go through the visa application. Thank you so much!

Klo072018年2月8日

Hi, Travis! I already got the Juminzei no Kazeishomeisho 住民税の課税（又は非課税）証明書) and the Proof of tax payment (Nouzei Shoumeisho 納税証明書) from the city hall. My Juminzei is about my 2017 records but as what I’ve understood it’s 0. On the other hand, my Nouzei is about my 2016 records. Are taxes imposed on the income of the previous year one year later? I arrived here October 2016. How will the immigration identify that I am capable of having a dependent? I am going to move to a new company. Does it matter? Thank you so much, Travis!

Typically, your Juminzei no Kazeishomeisho 住民税の課税証明書 is issued around June for the previous year. So, you shouldn’t be able to get your 2017 record until June 2018. Any records you get now should be for 2016. However, since you were not working in Japan for all of 2016, your tax records for that year would not be for a full year, as is required by the Immigration Bureau.
I would recommend that you check with them directly to see what they want you to submit, if your tax records do not show a full year. They may accept your Gensenchoshuhyo 源泉徴収票 and proof of employment.

Will you move to a new employer before or after you file the application? If it’s after, then it shouldn’t matter, unless you are also moving your address for your new job (if you move to the jurisdiction of a different Immigration Office). If you move jobs before you apply, you may have to show proof of employment and salary from the new job.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Nadine2018年1月16日

Hi, I need some advise. My mother is very sick and is confined in the hospital. We, my sister and I, were able to visit her last year with some documents from their end. But the situation now is, they can no longer provide us those required documents as my mother and step-father are both confined in the hospital. Is there any way that the Japan Embassy would grant me a visa so I can visit my parents? And how do you suggest I do it? Applying for Japan visa in the Philippines has to go through agencies and not direct to the embassy.. thank you in advance.

I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, that’s well beyond my area of expertise (spouse and dependent visas), so I would recommend that you try to contact someone with more experience in tourist visas for Philippines citizens.

I have just interviewed for the JET Program in Japan. If I am successful, can I ask you what options I would have for bringing my fiancee with me? Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

There is no fiance visa in Japan, so you would have to get married to bring your fiance on a dependent visa. Otherwise, your fiance could visit you short-term on a tourist visa (temporary visitor) or could try to secure a visa separately by finding work or enrolling in a school.

First of all, thank you for the great content you are producing and sharing here. It’s been a great help! So,

I’m planning on going to Japan as a language student for at least 1 year (ideally 2). But I’m having a very hard time finding information on whether I would be able to take my fiancée with me on a Dependent Visa or not. This is a deciding factor on our whole project, as you can imagine.

I know that the College Visa allows it, but I don’t know if there are any exceptions to it since I won’t study at an university or under a scholarship, but at a language school (like KAI or ISI). I’d be very grateful if you could help me with this. We are trying to think ahead and plan our stay there, but this has been like a thorn in our side, always reminding us that maybe it just won’t be possible at all.

You should be able to invite your wife to Japan as a Dependent even if you are attending a language school, rather than a university. The qualification for a dependent visa is that you must hold a student residence status (or one of the other eligible statuses). There is no rule saying that you have to be enrolled at a university. There are a few other things you should keep in mind, though:

You must be married, first. You cannot bring a fiance, only a legal spouse.

You will have to arrive in Japan first, alone, then apply for a Dependent Certificate of Eligibility for her.

You will need to show that you have sufficient financial resources to cover both of your expenses.

With that last note, I would recommend that you have resources from an outside source or accumulated savings. There has been a lot of news lately of “language schools” really working as illegal worker provision, where students don’t actually end up studying much, but just come to Japan to work. I’m sure that’s not the case for you, but to avoid that perception, I would recommend that you do not rely on money earned working part-time in Japan, as much as possible.

Thank you so much for the thorough response! I sent KAI an email yesterday asking about the Visa (since they provide assistance in the whole process for a JPY 20,000 fee), and they told me “Your fiancee can not get a dependent visa, Please be careful.” with no further explanation. But after your answer above, I noticed I picked the wrong word when I said “fiancée”, so… I replied to their answer explaining that we are already married and I hope to get a positive response!

That aside, I wouldn’t rely on money earned working part-time since I have my own funds and would have my uncle as a financial supporter as well, but I was planning to work part-time for the extra income, immersion and more possibilities to put the japanese I learn to practice. They recommend JPY 2,000,000 for each year, so in case I prove I already have this amount, would working part-time still be an issue? Also, I don’t plan on missing any classes as I want to make the most of the language course, so as a few months pass, wouldn’t this “earn their trust” in some way?

“Even if you get married, your spouse can not get a dependent visa while you hold a student visa.Only yourself can stay in japan for a long time with a studentvisa.
Please be careful.”

I am a little confused, since every official source I check does not mention any exceptions to the College Visa regarding the possibility of the Dependent Visa. And as you answered before, there should not be.

This is really upsetting since it makes all our plans almost impossible…

The language school cannot get a visa for your spouse or assist with that Certificate of Eligibility process in any way, but there should be no problem with you getting one for her yourself.
I know people on student visa statuses who have brought their spouses and children to Japan before, so I know that it’s possible. The only possible complication I can think of is that it might depend on your own period of stay. All of the people I knew who successfully brought their family had at least a 2-year period of stay in Japan. It might be more difficult if you only have a 6-month stay. I don’t have any direct experience with shorter stays and spouses.
How long is your period of stay?

In any case, the language school has no legal relationship with your spouse and can play no role in her certificate of eligibility or visa application process, so they have no real interest in helping you. I would not recommend going through them for future inquiries if you have any other alternative options.

I’m glad to hear that the language school confirmed that your spouse would be able to get a visa. I don’t think they’d legally be able to help you with her visa before you arrive in Japan though. You’ll likely still have to do it once you arrive.

It is not a problem to start working part time after you arrive in Japan. My recommendation was simply that you don’t list that as a source of income to support your wife. There is no way to ever “earn the trust” of the Immigration Bureau, no matter how much of a record you build up, so don’t count up building up credit with them. They will expect you to not miss any classes, and that will be their standard should you try to renew your period of stay later, but it’s just a minimum standard. Meeting it won’t give you any extra credit.

Your answer was very positive and brought me a little hope that things will work out.

But about what you said: “I’m glad to hear that the language school confirmed that your spouse would be able to get a visa.”, I am sorry but it seems I didn’t make myself clear. Even after clarifying in the last email I sent the school that we are married, they still said it would not be possible for her to go to Japan on a Dependent Visa. So please allow me to put their answer again:

“Even if you get married, your spouse can not get a dependent visa while you hold a student visa.Only yourself can stay in japan for a long time with a studentvisa. Please be careful.”

What I could understand from that was that it really would not be possible in any way, instead of the school just not being able to help us through the process. They could have said “it is possible and legally permitted, but we can not give you assistance you on that”.

Answering your question about how long I plan on staying there, it would be 1 year at first, but hoping to extend for the 2nd year so I can complete the language course. After that I intended to try to stay in Japan as a full-time worker for exemple (the school even advertises that they assist you with that, but I would not only rely on this possibility).

Sorry, I saw and replied to your comments in order, so I didn’t see the second change until after I’d replied to the first.
I honestly don’t know what the problem is here. I know for a fact that it is not a problem to invite your spouse on a dependent visa with a student status in general. You should not even need any documents from the language school to do it, according to the Immigration Bureau’s website.

If you have a 1-year stay, that should be long enough, as well. I’m afraid I really cannot understand what the language school is saying. If you can, I’d recommend that you contact the Immigration Bureau office directly or through a contact other than the language school to follow up.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Fahad Arshad2018年1月6日

Hi how to apply certificate of eligibility of my childrens which are above then 18 years old ?

Unfortunately, if your children are over 18, they should be independent and I do not know of any way for you to bring them to Japan on a family-related visa.
Your best bet would be to help them secure jobs in Japan that could provide a visa.

I just got married and would like to bring my Australian husband (I am also Australian) over on a dependent visa. He already planned to come visit me in March and if all goes well, he will move here then too. If we are unable to finalise his visa before then, will he still be able to come and visit me on a temporary tourist visa? Might immigration turn him away when he arrives in Japan, considering there may be some notification about his visa application in their system? Thank so much for the advice you give to us all!

There is no problem with visiting Japan on a tourist (temporary visitor status) while applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for another status. I see it happen all the time with students in my day job.
As an Australian, your husband would not even need to apply for a tourist visa in advance, he can simply arrive in Japan and receive a 90-day stay when he processes through immigration at the airport. He should avoid mentioning there that your are in the process of applying for a Dependent CoE, though, as that may confuse the Immigration officer and lead to complications.

Hello. I have a question what kind o f visa my mom will appy to me if the situation i like this.. Mom wants to get me in our country going to japan and stay in Japan with her also and she’s holding permanent visa coz she’s working long time ago until now and I have a Japanese step father but he was died 1 year ago.. im 25 years old now.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any visa type that would apply for you. To the best of my knowledge, dependent visas and Long-term resident visas only work for children of permanent residents if they are not yet legal adults.

Your best bet may be to try to find a job in Japan to get a working visa.

My mother is a permanent resident married to a Japanese. Is it possible to apply for a certificate of eligibility my case being married already and at 35 years of age? My stepfather included me in his juminhyo. Will that have a bearing?

My understanding is that to qualify for a Child of Permanent Resident status, you would have had to have been born in Japan and your mother would have already had to have been a permanent resident of Japan at that point. You would also have to be continually living in Japan from that point forward.
Based on those requirements, it does not sound to me like you would qualify for that status.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any family-related statuses that would allow a legal adult to come to Japan as the child of a Japanese national or permanent resident.

If a dependent with a work permit is working more than 28 hours per week (across all jobs), the person in question would be subject to deportation from Japan and the employer(s) could be imprisoned for up to 3 years and face a fine of up to 3,000,000 yen.

If there are only two of you (no children), then I would say that between savings and salary, you want to show proof of at least 120,000 yen per month, and even that figure may be low. The generally accepted rule I have seen is 80,000 per person per month at a bare minimum, but with families, you can combine some expenses, like rent, so you don’t necessarily have to double that.

If your monthly income is less than that, then your proof of savings would have to make up the difference for however many months you’re applying for.

Hi tranz
My wife is there in japan.she erned 100000 yen per month n we have no children yet.she try to bring me.my mother sponser to me she has saving here 4000000 rupees above in her account(2500000yen) and she erned here 2000000 rupees above(1400000yen) per month from her business.i want to know if enough money for sponsor to me?
Thank you!

The Immigration Bureau does not have an official minimum amount, so it is hard to say.
With the numbers above, if your mother is able to provide you with about 40,000 yen/month in support (which should be easily within the figures you wrote), in addition to your wife’s income then based on my past experience, you would probably be OK.
In that case, I would suggest that when you break down your support in the application form, you check both “Guarantor” and “Remittances from Abroad” in the financial support question.

That is true, but the level of translation varies by document.
For anything issued by the government (like a marriage certificate or birth certificate) or another outside organization, you would need a formal, professional translation.
For your proof of finances, in most cases, it is fine for you to highlight the account holder name and total balance (if a bank account) or salary and to handwrite the translations of those terms on the form so that the Immigration Bureau can read them.

Of course, you do not need to translate your passport page (I have seen some people do that in the past!) and you can complete the entries in the application form in English or Japanese.

You also do not need a lawyer for this application process. In most cases, it is very simple and straightforward and something you can complete on your own within a few hours.
I would only recommend a lawyer if you have some extenuating circumstances and need help navigating detailed rules.

Hello Travis,
If CoE form is expired due to some conditions, can I apply the next time. Because I want to call my baby, but the situation is changed and so, he can come next year. But, I already applied the CoE form for him.

If the CoE expires before your dependent uses it to apply for a visa and enter Japan, you would have to return that CoE to the Immigration Bureau, along with an explanation of why you were unable to use it, before you could apply for a new one. But yes, you can apply again!

I’m glad I could help!
You would need an employer to provide the paperwork to convert from dependent status to working status, so it’s not something you would be able to do on your own. If you find a full time job, they will have a person there who can help you.

There’s no exact threshold or limits about your income published anywhere, so I can’t say for sure what the Immigration Bureau would say. But I think that would be difficult. It depends a little on where you live, but you would have a very hard time supporting your family on that income. I knew someone in a rural area with a family of four on a stipend of about 145,000 per month and even they struggled.

It would help if you have a financial supporter in your home country or someone else who can help with the expenses.

Once your dependent arrives, you’ll take him with his residence card to the city hall/ward office etc. and file a “Report of Moving In” (転入届). They should also give you the forms to sign your dependent up for National Health Insurance at that point, and possibly the National Pension Plan, if that’s applicable.

Good day, Travis! Can I use my Employment Contract with my salary in applying for my husband’s Certificate of Eligibility? I am having a hard time acquiring a Certificate of Employment from my company. I was hired through an agency and I am living under my company’s housing assistance. Can I apply for it without my company’s knowledge? Does the immigration do background checking? Thank you for your help!

You do need proof of income to be able to apply for the Certificate of Eligibility. So you would have to get a certificate of employment from your company showing your salary, or wait until you had sufficient tax records to be able to apply using those as your proof of financial ability. But waiting for the tax records can take over a year from when you first start working.
If your company refuses to help, I would suggest that you consult with the immigration bureau. They may have better advice for you.

Hi Travis,
I arrived here in japan 6 months ago as residence of status “engineer” through a recruitment(haken) agency.Now i am working in a different company through that original recruitment company. I am planning to apply for COE for my wife as a dependent to me. But for some reason my original recruitment company doesn’t want my wife to come to japan and stay with me.That is why i am planning to apply for COE by myself. The question is that,do i need to have company’s stamp on the application form. I do have a employment contract paper with salary clearly written on it issued by the original recruitment company.

Your employer cannot help you with the CoE application for your wife, so you really have no choice but to do it yourself.
You don’t need that company’s stamp on your paperwork. As long as you have the proof of employment and salary, which shows that you are fulfilling the condition of your visa and have the financial means to support your wife, you should be fine.

Thank you for your information.Actually,i downloaded the applicaton form for COE for dependent visa from the official site of immigration bureau of japan.it contains 4 pages, last page is not that of use actually but in the third page” for supporter’s information” it asks to fill about the organization to which the supporter belongs and press the official seal of the organization.I want to know where to find the right application form.

You don’t need the company’s signature or seal in your case – that’s just a really confusing translation. The Japanese phrasing is more clear:
You only need the company’s name, signature, and seal if you and your spouse are arriving in Japan at the same time and the company is applying for both of your Certificates of Eligibility simultaneously.

Since you are already in Japan and you are your spouse’s supporter/guarantor, you do not need the company’s signature or seal on that line. You only need to sign it yourself.

You shouldn’t need the engineering graduation certificates. You need to prove that you are engaged in the activities that you came to Japan for, in other words working as an engineer. You don’t need to prove your qualifications all over again. Your employment and salary certificates should be fine.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Kamlesh2017年11月2日

Hello Travis,

Thanks for the useful information regarding dependent visa.
I have query regarding bringing my new born in Japan on tourist visa.
Me and my wife both have work visa and dependent visa respectively.
But can I bring my new born baby on temporary visa and then apply for the dependent visa / COE.
Is this possible without returning to home country?

I’m assuming your child was born outside Japan, but if that’s not the case, please let me know.
As far as I know, it is not possible to change from a temporary residence status to dependent residence status.
The best thing to do would be to apply for a CoE now for your newborn and send it to your wife. She should then apply for your baby’s dependent visa and then they can come to Japan together with no problem.

The CoE will be sent to whoever it is that applied for it, which should the spouse in Japan. I’ve never heard of an agency being involved in this process.

As soon as the applicant receives the CoE and sends it to his/her dependent, the dependent can start the application process for the visa. That application can take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks depending on the country the dependent is applying from. For that question, you’d need to refer to the Japanese embassy in your country to find out how long the usually take to process visas.

Dear All
Hello I have cultural activities visa. I want to invite my family with dependent visa.
Is there any one have experience with this situation?
If yes what kind of points do I consider? housing, funding, guarantor, and other?

There are a lot of things to consider lifestyle-wise, but for the visa, you just have to prove that your activities under your current residence status are valid and in line with that status and that you have the money to support your family. You would be their guarantor.

You do not need to have your housing situation sorted out before applying for the Certificate of Eligibility.

You should not need a lawyer for this application. It’s really quite simple to do on your own and having a lawyer won’t give you any advantage.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Mike2017年10月13日

A very informative site. I wanted to ask if I can bring my de facto wife with me from Australia, I am going to move to Japan to work for Japanese company. They may qualify as category 1 or 2, not sure at this stage, but article says only “legally” married wife can join me on dependant visa.

Unfortunately, Japan only recognizes legal marriages. You need to have a marriage certificate to prove your relationship.
If you don’t have any legal documentation, then de facto or common law spouses would not be considered spouses for the purpose of Immigration.

Parents cannot be considered “dependents” for visa purposes. That category is restricted to spouses and children.
I have heard of some people being able to bring their parents on a Designated Activities status if they can prove that there is no way the parent can continue living in their home country without their specific support. However, there is no precise standard for this status, it is a judgement call. If you are interested in that, I highly recommend that you work with an immigration lawyer who specializes in the field.

50 is still considered mid-working age in Japan, so I don’t think you’d be able to justify parents of that age being completely dependent on you for support.
I have heard of it being possible in some cases if both parents are over 70, but even in that situation, there’s no guarantee.

Hi! Can I apply for change of residence instead of certificate of eligibility? We got married last month here in Japan and he is staying here as a tourist for about 90days.(no visa) .Or my husband need to go home and I’ll apply his eligibility after? If we can apply for a cchange of residence will mmigration issue residence card for him as dependent?
I’m holding a working visa and we already have all the supporting documents just in case. Thanks! -done (Filipino)

As far as I know, the Immigration Bureau does not accept applications for Change of Status of Residence from Tourist/Short-term Stay to Dependent.
This is based on what I have heard from immigration lawyers and what I have read on the Immigration Bureau’s website, not through personal experience though. So, the best thing I can tell you is that it doesn’t hurt to ask!
You need all the same documents for both applications anyway, so I would suggest you visit the local Immigration Bureau office with the Change of Status of Residence application paperwork and see if they will accept it. If not, well, just submit the CoE application, instead. You don’t lose anything by trying.

Hi Travis
I am an Indian cook have one year skilled visa.I want to bring my family (wife age39 and 3 daughters age-13,7,and yongest is 9months).I have some questions and doubts.

1.My visa is expired on 12 December can I apply for dependent visa for my wife and three daughters simultaneously with my visa renewal .

2. As you mentioned 80,000 yen per month is considered sufficient resources for one person and 40,000 for a spouse and a little less than that for each child. Can you please tell me how much money I need for my spouse and three
Daughters.

3. My employer is showing only
150000yen per month in my salary slip. So can I show rest of finance
In my wife’s bank account in home
country or I have to show money
In my japan post office account.

4. And what after when their visa
Expire next year would I have to show money again to get renewal.

5. From where I can translate my marriage certificate and my kids birth certificate.

1. I would recommend that you check with the Immigration Bureau. They would probably want you to renew your residence status first, but I don’t have any direct experience so I can’t be sure.

2/3. The numbers I gave were rough estimates based on a handful of examples from the past. I knew a MEXT scholar on a 145,000 yen/month stipend that brought his wife and two small children to Japan, but there is not fixed number that is guaranteed to get you approval. If possible, I would recommend also having another source of income such as a financial backer in your home country who can help.
You can certainly use your wife’s account back at home as well as your own savings and salary.

4. Yes, you would have to financial resources for each renewal. Once you’ve been in Japan long enough to start paying residence tax, that would probably be your source of proof for the future.

5. I would recommend looking online for translation companies that can handle the languages involved. (TranSenz no longer operates as a translation company, so I cannot help you directly, I’m afraid.)

Dear Travis,
This comment is attached to my previous comment to clarify some issues.
yes my wife is already in Japan and she has applied for my COE on 14/07/2017.
In the mean time she is 07months pregnant now and we need to deliver baby in Japan since she has followed Japanese hospitals and doctors so far.
But if my COE gets delayed she has to go back for the delivery.
So i am seeking a way to get my COE result little earlier than expected time frame.
So i need to confirm that if she informs the immigration about her pregnancy, would they make process of my COE more speedy?
You are doing great job and thank you very much.
Kasun

Unfortunately, I do not think that the Immigration Bureau would agree with your statement that she has to go back to your country if you do not get your CoE in time. They would ask why she can’t simply give birth in Japan even with you not there. (It is not terribly uncommon for women in Japan to give birth without their husbands present).
So, I don’t think that would work as an official reason to accelerate your processing. On the other hand, it can’t hurt. You might find someone there who is sympathetic and can help check on the status or push it through in an unofficial way.

I would recommend that she try to contact them, let them know that she’s about to give birth and tell them that she’s worried that if the CoE doesn’t arrive before she gives birth, that she wouldn’t be able to pick it up in the mail and send it to you in a timely fashion. That would be a good “excuse” to ask the to check on its status and see if there is any way to accelerate it.

Dear Travis,
Thank you for your kind advices and now it is almost two months since my wife applied for my COE in Japan. but the worst situation is she is seven months pregnant now and you know that its risky to fly after certain stage during pregnancy.
Therefore, i am seeking your advice if she notify about her pregnancy to the immigration whether is there any possibility to receive a quick response from the immigration due to her pregnancy.
Moreover, we have shown 2 .6 million yen (two point six million) as a living cost since she doesn’t have a government grant as a student. would it be sufficient for the baby and both of us.
Further, is it possible to apply for tourist visa while my COE is pending?
Hope you would help me to solve this matter by providing your expertise knowledge.
Thanking You,
Kasun

It sounds like your wife is already in Japan and you will go to join her, is that correct? In that case, I’m not sure why she would be flying.

Since she is already in Japan, notifying the Immigration Bureau about her pregnancy probably would not have any impact, because she is not the one who will be traveling due to the visa process.

I don’t know how long of a visa you applied for, but the general rule for financial support is at least 80,000 yen for one person for one month. If she is a student and paying tuition on top of her living costs, I would expect them to want to see more than that for just her (100,000 yen/month or more). To add you and a baby on top of that, my guess would be that they would want to see at least 160,000 – 180,000 yen per month available. This is by no means an official calculation, just a guess!
If you have applied for a 1-year CoE, then the 2.6 million yen should be sufficient.

The CoE review process should take a maximum of 3 months, so you should have the result before she gives birth. In the meantime, if she is going to give birth in Japan, I assume you want to be there to support her, so applying for a tourist visa would also make sense in the meantime as a backup plan. However, I can’t say for sure whether you would end up being able to change from tourist to dependent status while in Japan, as you would have to justify that to the immigration bureau and rely on their determination.

I have a sick mother in Tokyo Japan and now she is living alone in the house as my step Japanese father was already dead. My step father already applied for our residential or family visa I think when I was there in Japan with my son last 2008. It happened that we went back to the Philippines and that’s the time when our papers came out from the embassy that we can stay now in Japan.

Please tell me what to do and how can we get the residential so that I can be with my
mother or visit her any time with out applying visa every time I wanted to visit her. Is there a way on how I can have my family Visa

Unfortunately, your question is well out of my area of expertise.
So much depends on your mother’s nationality, her residence status, your age, how many people you want to apply for visas for. . . You’d really want to speak to someone with expertise in your area.

Thank you for your response. I have another question in where I want to apply for a Multiple Entry Visa to Japan and this is because my mother was sick and I wanted to be there right away in case of something happen or emergency,
The question is, what are the things that I need to prepare as documents in applying A multiple entry visa? Is the embassy will give me that kind of visa even for visiting parents? My mother will not be able to give or send any documents because of her condition, I only have her Birth certificate that proves that she is my mother.
Me and my sister is planning to be in Japan as soon an we have our passport renewed. I have been to Japan for how many times but this situation is different as my mother is really sick.
Please help us on what to do. I really appreciate the advice you are giving.

I think you would need a tourist or temporary visitor visa for that. If you check the Japanese embassy’s website, they should have directions for applying for a visa to visit family members. (Depending on your nationality, you might not need to apply for a visa at all, but again, you’ll have to check the embassy’s website).
I don’t have any particular experience or expertise with tourist/temporary visitor visas, but I know the process is much simpler and you wouldn’t need a Certificate of Eligibility for that.

Hi Travis. Your posts are so informative and helpful. I would like to ask about visa for parents of permanent resident. I invited my mother in Japan in the year 2014, short term visa. She’s 70 yrs. old now, widowed and I am her only child. I send her financial support. I file my ITR yearly and declared her as my dependent so my taxes are low. I wanted to invite her again to stay longer and live with us coz she lives alone in the Philippines. Though I’m not sure if she’ll be granted, I will try to apply for COE first but I don’t know which visa category is applicable for her. Any thoughts? TIA.

Visas for parents are out of my area of expertise. Dependent visas can only cover your spouse or your children. They cannot cover other legal dependents, including parents.
I have heard some immigration lawyers talk about a “Designated activities” visa for caring for elderly parents (老親扶養), but from what I have been able to find, there are no precise standards for getting it. You would have to prove that your mother is incapable of living on her own without your support, and it sounds like it would be up to the Immigration Bureau’s judgement.

If you’re interested in that process, I would suggest that you work with an immigration lawyer to learn more and better your chances!

Good day, Travis! I am a Filipina and I am planning to marry my husband, who is a Filipino at the Philippines. Do I need some documents here before we marry? I am planning to get him here through spouse visa. Thank you very much!

I’ve written another article about International Marriage in Japan that describes how you would get married under Japanese law.
Since neither of you are Japanese, though, you aren’t required to register your marriage in Japan. If you want to do it only in the Philippines, then you would not need any documentation in Japan.

If you are a permanent resident of Japan, you can apply for a spouse visa for him. Otherwise, you would have to apply for a dependent visa for him after your marriage.

Good day, Travis! Thank you for helping me! I have few more questions.

Do I really need to have a lawyer for me to fix all the documents that I need for my husband’s COE application? Can I already apply for his COE after a month or two of our marriage? What is the first thing that I should do?

Is it possible for me to get him through a dependent visa right away? I’ll be arranging the documents as soon as I arrive here again. Do I need to arrange the documents at the prefecture where I am living now? If I apply for his COE, can I still use my pre-married name so it would still match with the passport? Thank you very much for the help, Travis! Sorry for my long message.

You would need to use your name as it appears on your Residence Card, since that is your legal name in Japan.
Yes, you can only apply for the Certificate of Eligibility at the Immigration Bureau Office in your prefecture.

No, you don’t need a lawyer. It’s a very simple and straightforward process (as I hope I made clear in the article above – which also includes all of the steps you need!).
You can get started right away.

You would need official translations for any of government-issued English documents, such as your certificate of marriage. But you don’t to translate your passport, etc., since the Immigration Bureau can read that without a problem.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Kloeen2017年9月6日

Good day, Travis! Do I need to have our application for marriage license authenticated in the Philippine Embassy here in Japan? Thank you for always answering my queries!

Unfortunately, I am not an expert in Philippine law or procedures. I know that if you get married under Japanese law, you have to report your marriage to the Philippine embassy, but I don’t know the procedures.
I have heard from other commenters that if you can provide proof of having completed the procedures at the embassy/consulate, that is enough to move forward with your Certificate of Eligibility application.

Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz

Kloe2017年8月26日

Good day, Travis! I arrived here in Japan last Oct 3, 2016 and I’ll be marrying my fiance on January 2018. We are both Filipinos and we will have our wedding at the Philippines. Is it possible for me to get him through a dependent visa right away? I’ll be arranging the documents as soon as I arrive here again. Do I need to arrange the documents at the prefecture where I am living now? If I apply for his COE, can I still use my pre-married name so it would still match with the passport? Thank you very much!

Congratulations on your pending marriage.
You can start applying for your husband-to-be’s Dependent Visa as soon as you have your marriage records, but it will take some time to process. You’ll need the marriage records from the Philippines and your income records from Japan.
You would need to file the CoE application in the prefecture where you are a registered resident.

You should use your pre-married name, since your name has to match your passport and residence card.

Thank you very much for giving a lot info regarding the dependent visa and COE.
For me, I am going to study at Japanese graduate school from next year by own cost and want to bring my family (husband and 2 kids) with me. I have a couple of questions :
1. In order to show the sufficient finance, I have to open a bank account in Japanese bank through transferring my money from home country, or, is it acceptable just to bring the bank statement from bank of home country?
2. In case of opening bank account in Japan, what do you think that at least how much yen would be sufficient for 2 years for family with 4 members for COE?
3. Students are not able to bring their dependents to Japan at the same time with them. In case of must bringing them with me, can I bring them by tourist visa (1-3 months) and after that can I change their visa status while in Japan when their COE is ready? Or, they have to back home and apply again for dependent visa?

You’re welcome! I’m glad you’ve found it useful.
1. A bank statement from your home country is fine.
2. I knew a MEXT scholar in the past who brought his wife and two small children to Japan based on his monthly stipend of approximately 150,000 yen, but since you’re not a MEXT scholar, I would think you’d want to show more than that… at least 180,000/month (more if your children are older and have more expenses).
3. My understanding is that you cannot change from tourist visa to dependent visa in Japan, at least not directly, so you’d need to apply for a CoE for them, not just a Change of Status of Residence. Once you get the CoEs, they may be able to change from tourist to dependent without leaving the country. (That should work, but unfortunately, there’s not set rule on the subject, so I can’t guarantee it will).

I would recommend that you check with the Japanese embassy in Qatar to make sure that they will accept visa applications from applicants with other nationalities. If they say it’s fine, you wouldn’t have to return to your home country.
Once you have received the dependent visa, it does not matter what country you enter Japan from. You would not have to return to your country just to fly to Japan.

Dear Travis,
I am a regular reader of your useful articles and have posted couple of questions before as well.
I have applied for my spouse COE last month exactly 0n 14/07/2017 and still awaiting for their response. how long will they take for this?
moreover one person here “Deb on 2017年7月24日” commented similar situation and if they required additional documents will they notify as soon as possible?
It would be glad if she can share her story which is quite similar to mine as Immigration Bureau has requested additional financial documents from her and glad to know within how many days they have notified her?
I would really appreciate your expertise advice.
Thank You,
Kasun

Unfortunately, there’s no consistent answer. The time it takes to process depends on where and when you apply. There are peak busy times throughout the year, and there is also variance from location to location. The whole process can take up to three months, so at this point, you’re still relatively early in the application timeframe. In my experience, for applicants with no issues, they usually find out within 1.5-2 months, but again, there is some variety, so if it takes longer, that’s not necessarily a bad sign.

Unfortunately, I never heard any more details from Deb than were in her comment, so I can’t really offer any additional details there. I do know that if they notice any missing documents, they will notify you to supply them as soon as they can, because they want to get the paperwork finished, too. Usually, you’ll get that notice by mail.

Hi Travis! Thank you for your time spent to help people. I found your site very informative. I have a question. I’m planning to go to Japan to learn Japanese through language course. And maybe after a year or two apply for a master degree. Will I be able to bring my husband and 3 kids in Japan while I’m in a language course not waiting until I apply to university? I’ve heard that you can’t bring your family members while studying in just a language course/school. You have to be enrolled in bachelor or master program to bring your family. Is it true? Please clarify. I will be grateful.

As far as I know, that is not true. You’d have the same visa and residence status for the language school that you would as a full-time student in a degree program, so I do not see what the problem would be, but I do not have any direct experience, so maybe some other commenters on here can provide more advice.

I have heard that immigration is a little stricter on language school students because there are a lot of people who come to Japan and enroll in language school, but never attend and just secretly work instead. They’ll want to make sure that you really are studying there.

Aside from that, you’ll just need to prove that you’ll be able to support your family financially while you’re there.

Dear Travis,
Thank you very much for your all posts.
We really need your advice!!!
I and my husband enrolled to the University. And our study starts in mid of September. I am a sgu-mext scholarship holder. My husband is waiting for his CoE, and we are expecting tk have it by mid of August. The problem is, we have a daughter. She is 7 months old, we need to bring her with us to Japan, as there is nobody who we can leave her in our home country. So, we need a CeO for our daughter’s dependent visa. How can we get it if we both are not in Japan yet?! Is there any way?!
Any advices and suggestions would be appriciated.
Thank you very much in advance,
Best regards, Assyl and Turar

I would recommend that you consult with the Japanese embassy in your country. It looks like there may be a way to bring your daughter to Japan on a tourist visa then change her status to dependent once you are there so that you can all stay together, but this requires pre-consultation and possibly pre-approval by the embassy and immigration bureau.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any more information about it, so I recommend you contact them directly!

Hello travis,
U r really helpful by this post .
Im from pakistan my husband is in japan n applied for the family eligibility certificate and the past 20th julay completed three months duration ..plz tell me when r we going to get any news or reply from them

Unfortunately, there’s no way to know when the Immigration Bureau will get back to you with a reply. It can take 1-3 months.
If more than 3 months have passed, I would suggest having you husband contact them to ask about the status. Normally, they will not answer, but since it has been so long, they may be able to.

Hello Travis,
I have a question about permanent residency. In the distant future, I would like to apply for permanent residency. I am currently on a work visa and my husband is on a dependent visa. We are both foreigners from USA. My question is, if I become a permanent resident, what would become of my husband’s visa status? A spouse of permanent resident? Or still a dependent? FYI: We both plan to live in Japan for the minimum of ten years before we proceed with the process. Unfortunately, it does not look likely that my husband will be able to obtain a work visa within the allotted time. So, we were curious as to what his status will become when I become a permanent resident.
Thank you!

Once you receive your permanent residency, your husband would be able to apply to change his residence status to “Spouse of Permanent Resident,” which offers a lot of advantages over dependent (including a shortened timeline to permanent residency for him, too!)

Hello Travis, and thank you for your extensive website with heaps of helpful information. However, I do have a question that I can’t seem to find the answer to…

I am a US citizen and have been living in Japan for nearly a year. I am here on a 3 year professor visa. Last week, my husband and I got married here in Japan at city hall. He is a Turkish citizen and had entered Japan on a 90-day tourist visa. He has visited the immigration office and submitted the COE among other documents. His tourist visa is going to end soon, in about 10 days. The immigration officer told him that he has to go back to Turkey before the tourist visa ends. Though what is unclear is does he have to be out of Japan during the entire waiting process of the COE approval? Does he really have to go back to Turkey specifically? Can he go to another country which is much closer? And most importantly, can he return to Japan on another tourist visa before the COE is approved, and stay in Japan while waiting for all the paperwork to be finalized?

I am sorry for the late reply.
Congratulations on your recent marriage!

If your husband already had a CoE and submitted it to the Immigration Bureau along with the application for “Change of Status of Residence”, then he should be able to stay in Japan for up to 60 days from the date of submitting that application, even if his period of stay expires. However, if he just submitted his application for a CoE, then, yes, he would have to leave Japan.

He does not need to be outside of Japan for the entire time while waiting for the CoE to process. In fact, if he returns to Japan and the CoE is issued during that time, he may even be able to change his status of residence in the country without leaving. (This is not guaranteed to work.)

He does not specifically need to go back to Turkey, but he needs to be somewhere where he has a mailing address where you can reach him and be in a country where the Japanese embassy will accept visa applications from third-country nationals. When you get the CoE, you will need to mail it to him by EMS, etc., so that he can apply for his visa.
In most countries, Japanese embassies and consulates will accept visa applications from anyone of any nationality, but I know that in some where human trafficking is a concern, they have restrictions on who can apply for visas there, so he should contact the Japanese embassy first in the country where he wants to stay to make sure he can apply.

I am currently a student in Japan. I was on scholarship before up to March this year, but not anymore. I recently got married and already applied for a CoE for my husband to join me in Japan. The immigration bureau has asked for a letter and documents to show how we will support ourselves. Since am just working part-time jobs, what would be your advise? Would they accept a guarantor e.g a Japanese in addition to my part-time jobs? Thank you.

In your case, you don’t need a guarantor, you need a financial supporter – someone who has promised to provide you with a certain amount of money each month to support your financial needs. That person can be Japanese or a foreigner, even living abroad. (For example, if your husband’s parents were to send money, that would work).

Typically, you have to show an income of at least 80,000 yen/month for one person. For a second person living with you, I don’t have an exact guideline, but I would think they would want to see at least 120,000 – 140,000 month for a couple.

Hi thanks a lot i got more information from your site. My question is my boy friend is in japan now. We are going to marry in next year after he came to sri lanka. Can i go with him defenately after our marriage

Thank you. This information was great. I am getting married next month and plan to bring my new wife into Japan. Quick question. The translation of documents like the marriage certificate etc, does this have to get done by an official translation company or can it be done by anyone who can read and write Japanese?

Translations of official documents have to be done by a professional translator.

(In fact, my wife and I initially founded TranSenz as a translation company specifically to offer those kinds of translations to international families on an affordable basis, because of our experience trying to get the translation work done. Unfortunately, we’ve since ceased operations on the translation side.)

Hello,
I am french and planning to marry a foreign student in Japan but I need a visa to stay together in Japan (Dependant visa).
I would like to know if it is possible for me to apply for the visa while being in Japan?
Best regards,
Safia

It depends on what your current status is. If you are living in Japan now on a student residence status, too, then you can change your status of residence to dependent.
However, if you are in Japan on a Temporary Visitor status, then you are not allowed to change to Dependent without leaving the country.

Hi Travis,
This is Olivia I have seen that you have very interactive site.I am in a big doubt here . My husband has applied for dependent visa on 15th april we have called so many times to osaka embassy but didnt hear any satisfactory answer now they have told that our appkication has moved to hirosima ,could you please let me kniw how much time it takes to get dependent COE .

I am fortunate to have an interactive site here – but sometimes I can’t keep up with all of the activity in a timely fashion. For your comment, it looks like I was even slower to respond than Immigration. I hope you’ve gotten your answer by now!
Typically, it takes up to three months to process, but if your application moved to another office, it might take a little longer if they had to start over, etc.
The embassy wouldn’t have anything to do with the Certificate of Eligibility application, so I don’t think calling them would help. You should be going through the Immigration Bureau where your husband is registered as a resident.

Hi Travis! Thank you very much for your blog and your explanations!
Could you please give a comment on my situation: my husband got a contract in Japan and his company has already got him his COE but they did’nt want to do it for me, so we had to find an agency to apply for my COE. We wanted to leave France where we are living now by the end of June, but the agency is now saying that my husband should be in Japan to be able to apply for my COE. SO the question is: it is really necessary for the sponsor to be in Japan at the time of the COE dépendent application? If yes, why the agency is needed then? My husband could apply by himself. But the idea was really to make my COE now and leave to Japan at the same time. I am getting really stressed out by the idea to be forced to stay in France on my own for 3 months (I have already quit my job) waiting for my COE. Is there an agency that can apply for my COE while both of us are still in France? For the record my husband works in a company of Category 2 and got his COE in 3 weeks time.
I hope I didn’ t make it too complicated to read.
Thank you in advance for your help,

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.
Yes, it really is necessary for the sponsor to be in Japan to apply for the CoE.

I’ve never heard of an “agency” to do this for you and there is absolutely no reason you would need one. There is nothing an agency could do to help you speed up the process, anyway. I think they may just be there to rip you off.

Hopefully by now your husband has arrived in Japan and started the application. But if you’ve had any further questions or problems, please let me know!

Hi! this post was really helpful . it gave me the gist of what dependent visa is about and how to obtain it.

however though, my situation is a bit different. I am planning to go to Japan this year with my son, 2y.o with just tourist visa. While we are there I would be attending job interviews as instructor/teacher with companies that sponsors for work visa. You said on your post that companies can help me with obtaining dependent visa for my son as long as the meet the criteria, right? but my son, by that time, would be in Japan too with me. Do we still have to go back to our country Philippines to process everything? or everything can jist be process from within Japan? You also mentioned about sponsoring a dependen all by yourself? Can I also do that if the company won’t be able to sponsor my son? Can i do that even if my son is staying with me in Japan as tourist too.?

I don’t know if I have explained my situation properly.

I am also thinking about the possibilities of obtaining Certificate of Eligibility for me and my son without the help of any company. Meaning to say, I get it on my own and then return to our country and apply for work visa for me and dependent visa for my son. Do you think that would be possible? I really would appreciate any inputs from you.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.
Based on my limited knowledge, in all likelihood, both you and your son will have to leave Japan after you find a job to apply for a visa and return. I have worked with dependent visas for students, but I have no direct experience with employer-supported dependent visas.

You would have to secure a job very quickly to be able to change your residence status from temporary visitor to working status within Japan. While that might be possible, I don’t know of anyone personally who has done it.

Even if you were able to change your status without leaving the country, you certainly would not have enough time to apply for a Dependent Certificate of Eligibility for your son on your own, since you can only start that process after you have your working status.
That means if the company cannot do it, then you would have to leave Japan and apply for his visa from the Philippines.

To get a Certificate of Eligibility for an employment visa, you would need an employer. It is not possible to apply for one on your own without some support (at least documentation) from a company.

Hi Travis! My husband and I we’re planning to live together with our daughter. He has a Family visa for 3 years and can renew and after a couple of years his next renew is permanent resident. He worked in japan. And we are planning to apply for CoE. Do you know what type of visa should we apply? A dependent visa or a long-term visa? Thank you!

“Family Visa” isn’t an official name and could refer to a couple of different things, so I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to. If you could find the official name (from your husband’s residence card), I might be able to provide more detailed information.

In any case, if he is not a permanent resident now, then you would need dependent visas for both you and your daughter. Your husband can get that started by applying for the Certificate of Eligibility.
When he changes his status to Permanent Resident, then you and your daughter will be able to apply to change your residence statuses to “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident.” You will be able to apply for that change within Japan, and the application process is nearly identical to the application for a Certificate of Eligibility for a Spouse.

Hi there
I found the article very helpfull but i have a few more questions if you don’t mind.like can one apply for a dependent visa if they just got married?? And what if the applicant does not have a birth certificate??is that a problem??
Would be greatfull if you could answer.
Best regards

Yes, you can apply for the Certificate of Eligibility and visa immediately after getting married.
Your birth certificate shouldn’t be required for the Certificate of Eligibility application process (just your marriage certification). In some countries, it might be required to apply for your visa, but since that’s on a country-by-country basis, I’m afraid I don’t have any detailed information about where it is required.

Hi Travis
IVe been here in japan for almost 5years i want to get my husband a dependent visa and i can provide all the documents but im afraid for my low annual income 124万 because i ask a immigration lawyer told me my income is insufficient to get my husband! Is it? Can you tell me what is your opinion regarding this matter! thank you!!
Regards,
Arly

Unfortunately, I think your lawyer is right. 124万 is rather low for two people. The Immigration Bureau typically wants to see a minimum of 80,000 per person per month, and preferably 100,000, based on what I’ve seen in the past. That would mean 192万-240万 per year for two people. You could probably get away with a little less, since you’ll be sharing some costs, but not that much.
The problem is that Dependent is a non-working status, so they will assume that your husband won’t contribute to the income. A surer way to bring him to Japan would be to help him find a job opportunity and come on a working status, if that is possible. If not, then you’ll need to find someone who can act as a long-term financial supporter for the two of you.

Those information are helpful! I would like to clarify your note.
“Note: Any documents in a foreign language must have a Japanese translation attached.”
My Marriage Contract is written in English, does it still need to be translated? I initially thought since the document is in English language, I don’t need a translated document.
Does it also mean the COE form should be in Japanese language?
As I am planning not to get a lawyer to process my papers.
Do you think I may need a laywer to successfully process my application of dependent visa for my husband?

Your answers to the CoE application form can be in English, but your marriage contract would have to be translated into Japanese.

You do not need a lawyer for this application process. It is straightforward and simple. At most, you will need a translator to translate your marriage contract and maybe a Japanese-speaking friend to help you ask questions to the Immigration Bureau office if you need any clarification from them.

This is a highly informative article for people like myself who are planning to move to Japan. I have a quick question and I hope that I will get an answer to it. I had applied for a job in a Japenese company and recently they informed me that they have obtained my certificate of eligibility from the immigration bureau. Now I am hoping to have my visa issued at the local Japanese embassy. Now, there are a few things I need to know about the family/dependent visa in Japan.

I am married with two children, having the official government issued marriage/family registration certificates with me
I want to know how long do I have to wait before applying for my dependents’ via after arrival in Japan
What will be the length of visa in years that the local japanese embassy will grant to me (1 or 3 years)? The company that has hired me is a medium sized enterprise. If they issue my visa for one year or less, will i still be able to apply for my dependents’ visa upon arrival?

You can apply for your dependents’ visa as soon as you have arrived in Japan and started your employment.
As for the length of visa you will receive, that should have been stated on your Certificate of Eligibility. If you still have that document or a copy, the length should be specified approximately halfway down, in parentheses, on the right hand side of the box that says “Status.”
Even if your visa is for a year, you should be able to apply for dependent visas for your family to join you.

hi.im tin..im married to a japanese.my husband apply for coe last oct.but it denied last dec.my husband one more time apply for my coe last dec.2016,the immigration sent him a letter regarding additional document.my husband.already submitted all the documents..i called the immigration to ask about my coe and my child.he said that the verification already finished but they are not yet mail the coe to my husband.i asked the staff if i passed the verification,he said Maybe..how is it?is it already ok?tnx

I’m afraid that’s really not enough information for me to figure out whether or not your CoE would be approved or not. I have never heard of anyone being told “maybe” before, so I’m not sure what they mean.
It should take a maximum of 3 months from when your husband submitted it to get the result, so you should be hearing soon!

I have another question. My lawyer is in Tokyo and she is asking me if I want the COE application to be submitted in Tokyo. I live in Kobe and I am not sure which is the best thing to do. I am just worried that Tokyo immigration is too busy right now and might cause some delay. Is it possible if I will submit all the application here in Osaka? Thank you!

I don’t think it’s going to make a significant difference in processing time if you file in Osaka/Kobe as opposed to Tokyo. At least, there’s nothing I can say with certainty.
It is possible for you to submit the paperwork yourself in Kobe, but you might have to redo some parts of it if you had originally completed it with the intent of having your lawyer file in Tokyo.

My lawyer is almost done preparing all the documents and translation for the application of COE. I just want to know which is a better option. My lawyer lives in Tokyo and she suggested to have the COE application in Tokyo but I’m worried that it’s a very busy immigration so it could cause delay. Another option is to apply the COE in Osaka or Kobe area since I am staying here and I currently live here. I am not sure if the application would be easier here. Thank you.

If you want your lawyer to be able to file the application and take care of all the follow-up, then I think you have no choice but to file in Tokyo. If you want to submit the application yourself, then you can do it in the city where you’re living.
Osaka and Kobe are both rather large cities and destinations for foreign residents, themselves, so I really don’t think applying there would make much of a difference in terms of processing time.

This is so helpful! Thank you so much. My question is, is it OK if he is currently on a temporary visa for business while I apply for the COE? The Dependent COE application ask if he has previously visited Japan and for date of entry/departure. At the time that his application is being done (COE) he will be with me on the temp visa which is not unusual because he is actually on business for his company in his home country. But I want to know if applying for the COE while he has not left Japan as yet is OK.

It’s not a problem if he is in Japan for business when you apply or if he comes to visit again while the application is processing. It’s not that uncommon of a situation.
For his current trip, you can fill in the date he arrived and the day he is scheduled to leave. (If he’s here for business, I assume he has a plane ticket back).

Hi, I have a similar question – if I move to Japan with a working visa, could my husband come over with me on a 90-day tourist visa while I apply for his COE, then return to the UK to complete his dependent visa application? Obviously the less time we have to spend in separate countries the better!
Thank for all of the info by the way, it’s really been very helpful!

I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work!
He might not even have to go all the way back to the UK, if you can time it right. He could be eligible to apply in another country, closer, to save on airfare. But you’ll want to check with the Japanese Embassy in that country first to make sure they’ll accept visa applications from someone who is in the country as a tourist.

For the Dependent Visa, you should be able to submit just a Certificate of Employment that states your salary instead of the tax records.
Double-check with the Immigration Bureau to be sure, but that was what I submitted for my status renewal before I had the expected tax records, and it was not a problem then.

I have a question, i am applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for my partner. We have not yet married but we’ve been living together like couples for quite long. We have a plan to get married later after I graduate. Can you please advice what should I do. I want my partner to stay with me to support me in my studies. He is now in Japan with me on a visitors permit but will be expired in February.
I would really appreciate your kind advice.
Thank you

Unfortunately, there is no “fiance visa” in Japan. If you are not legally married, then you cannot apply for a dependent Certificate of Eligibility for him.
If he wants to stay in Japan without getting married, then he would have to enroll in studies or find a job and get one of those organizations to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for him.

I posted my question (COE – Spouse Visa) under different category you made for your blog so I am posting my question here again. 🙂 Thank you very much for all the useful information you made.

Hi! I’d like to ask how long should I work here in Japan before I can apply for a dependent visa for my husband. I arrived here last October 5 and I am working as an English teacher. I was given Engineering / specialization in human services visa which is good for 5 years. I tried to contact some Japanese immigration lawyer with regards to my concern and I might meet him before the end of the month. I just want to know your idea before consulting a lawyer since I think I have to pay for the consultation. By the way I am Filipina and my husband is also a Filipino. Thank you! 🙂

You don’t need to wait before applying for a Dependent CoE for your husband. As soon as you are able to collect all the required documents (particularly the proof of financial resources, such as a certificate of employment with salary from your employer), you can start the application process.

I just have one more question. Since I just got married before coming here in Japan, my last name which appears in my passport is my last name when I was single. Do I have to change first my passport? I just have my passport renewed last July 2015. Thank you!

You don’t have to change your name to your spouse’s name (unless it’s required by your country’s laws). You can keep your pre-married name if you want. You’re going to use your marriage certificate to prove that you’re married, not your last name.
If you do plan to change your name in your passport, I recommend you do it before you apply for your CoE. Your name in your passport and your name in your CoE must match.

Thank you for your e-mail. I am just waiting for my marriage contract and advisory of marriage from the Philippines and I will have my lawyer translate everything in Japanese. I thought I really have to change my passport first but as you have mentioned, the marriage certificate is more important. Hopefully next week, all the documents will be ready to be submitted in the immigration office.

Leave a Reply

Get Notified about New Resources

Sign up for the TranSenz mailing list and get access to my Personalized Japanese Year Conversion Tool as a free thank-you!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Email Format

HTML

Text

Master the MEXT Scholarship

Get everything you need to know about the MEXT scholarship application process, eligibility, and strategies to improve your chances in one convenient book: How to Apply for the MEXT Scholarship is now available in paperback and ebook